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OFFTCFAL  CORRESPONDENCE 


AGENTS  OF  EXCHANGE, 


KMiKXaKR    WITH 


MR.  OUr.D'S  KKPORT. 


etNi  1 


OFFICIAL  CORRESPONDENCE 


BRTWBKN    THE 


AGENTS  OF  EXCHANaB. 


rf)Qj:THEK  wr»M 


IR.  OULD'S  REPORT. 

I 

^^i/^^e^t-t^  '■"'ML-. 


RICHMOND : 

SENTINEL   JOB    OFPICF 
18ft4. 


inc  rLuncno  uw <-»-•- V 


m 
OF 


*#A2 


COMMISSIONER   OF  EXCHANGE. 


CONFF.DKUATK   StATICS   OF    A.MKRICA,  ^ 

Fl'ar  Depai-tn'ient,      ^ 
Richmond,  Ya.,  Dec.  otli,  18G3.  ) 

lion.  .Ta>;.  a.  ^y.\M)oy,  S(('rctary  of  War  : 

Sir  :  1  have  tlic  honor  to  suhmit  the  accompanying  correspondence 
between  the  Federal  Agent  of  Exchange  and  nij'self : 

I  havevselected  from  the  mass  of  correspondence,  such  letters  as 
relate  to  matters  of  general  intcrcj?t.  and  (specially  to  the  suhjects  of 
controversy  between  us. 

1.  Papers  from  one  to  twelve,  inclusive,  relate  the  arrest  and  deten- 
tion of  non-combatants.  The  Federal  authorities  have  persistently 
refused  to  o|?scrve  any  reciprocal  rule  as  to  such  parties.  Their  mili- 
tary commanders  seem  to  have  been  permitted  to  make  arrests  of  non- 
eombatants  without  regard  to  their  age,  sex  or  situation.  After 
arrest,  they  have  been  thrown  into  prison  and  there  indefinitely 
retained,  in  most  cases,  without  charges.  I  have  persistently  con- 
tended that  the  whole  subject  of  Ui»i»  capture  of  non-combatants, 
should  be  determined  by  rule,  and  not  by  arbitrary  practice.  This 
reasonable  proposal,  not  receiving  the  assent  of  the  enemy,  the  Con- 
federate authorities  have  been  forced,  in  some  instances,  to  retain 
Fedeial  non  combatants  as  a  measure  of  retaliation. 

2.  Papers  from  thirteen  to  sixteen,  inclusive,  relate  to  the  retention 
of  exchanged  and  une.'whanged  officers  and  men.  There  are  officers 
and  men  now  in  Federal  prisons,  who  have  been  there  ever  since  the 
adoption  of  the  cartel.  I  have  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  United 
States  authorities  again  and  :igain  the  nnmes  of  some  of  the  parties 
who  were  confined  in  violation  of  the  exchange  agreements.  In  some 
cases,  after  long  delay,  the  parties  were  released.  Others,  however, 
are  still  languishing  in  confinement. 

3.  J'upers  fiom  seventeen  to  foity.  inclusive,  relate  to  the  general 
orders  of  the  enemy  and  their  connection  with  declarations  of  ex- 
change. So  anxious  has  the  Confederate  (jovernment  been  to  remove 
all    obstacles    to    a   general    exchange    of   prisoners,  that  when  the 


64 

computation  and  adjustment  of  jiaroles  wasmado  a  subject  of  difficulty 
by  the  enemy,  we  promptly  agreed  to  determine/ the  vholo  matter  in 
•ceordance  with  the  general  orders,  issnedfat  Washiuf^ton.  This  verv 
liberal  proposition  has  not  been  :iCf(|)iod  hy  the  ?\'deral  authorities, 
I  have,  however,  by  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  th«*  cartel,  proceeded 
to  make  declarations  of  exchange,  upon  the  1i-m  nl  those  general 
orders.     In  those  declarations  of  exchange.   I  a  exceeded  the 

•  valid  paroles,  which  are  on  file  in  my  olii.  r.  i  ^\^•  reply  of  the 
Federal  agent  to  my  letter  of  October  Sist,  lS(i.3.  w«s  so  pers  »nnlly 
ofTensive,  that  1  was  compelled  to  return  it  tn  him  wirii.ntt  i.ny  au- 
Bvrer. 

4.  Papers  from  forty- one  to  forty  seven,  inclusive,  relate  to  the 
confinement  of  (ien.  John  IJ.  Morgan  nnd  his  officers  iu  th*^  piMiiten- 
tiary,  at  Columbus.  Ohio.  'J'hough  the  Fcilernl  ^j'ent  on  the  ;>''th  of 
July.  T8('3,  not  ''    '    jf^  that     ren.  "'  V  '■  >ri:;.ii  an  I  hi"   olfioers 

would  bt  placcn  :,?,  ccutiuoinc'it.  ■  ^e  I  m.;  nv.)  ntonins  af- 

terwards, that  "the  ruited  ?tat€3  nutbortfies  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  treatment  that  (ieneral  Moriian  and  hi-t  Cv/mmanl  received  when 
inifjrisoned  at  Colutnbus." 

o.  Papers?  from  forty-eight  to  fifty- seven,  inclusive,  relate  to  the 
detention  of  surgeons.  Before  the  date  of  the  cartel,  surgeons  were 
unconditionally  released  aft«r  capture'.  That  rule  was  tirst  a  hinted 
by  the  Confederate  comuiauders.  and  was  subsequently  followed  by  tlie 
Federals.  Some  time  age,  one  Ruckcr  was  indicted  by  a  g^jid  jury 
hi  Virginia,  for  several  felonies.  Although  Ruckir  was  never  a  sur- 
geon in  the  Federal  service,  the  enemy  held  snrgeon  Greor.  of  the 
Confederate  navy,  in  retaliation.  This  caused  rddiHtion  on  our 
part,  in  return,  and  surgeons  were  afterwards  held  in  captivity  on 
both  sides.  In  this  instance,  th**  Federal  aufhoririe-'  proved  dn^  they 
were  re  idy  t,»  siciifi-e  their  owti  uie  li".il  nnijei**!!  iu  an  enduM'Xiv  to 
-ecure  the  release  of  a  felon  in  no  way  cniiuecced  wit'h  their  nIc^ical 
service.  Rncker  having  recently  escaped  from  jail,  the  surgeojis  on 
both  sides  have  been  released. 

6.  Papers  from  fifty-eight  to  sixty-three,  inclusive, relate/ to  persons 
captured  upon  our  rivers  and  the  high  seas.  By  agreement  made 
with  the  Federal  agent  of  exchange,  all  such  who  were  captured  be- 
fore December  10th,  lb62,  were  declared  exchanged.  In  spite  of  that 
agreement,  some  of  our  pilots  and  sea  captains  were  kept  in  confine- 
ment. The  correspondence  will  fully  show  the  refu-jal  of  the  Federal 
authorities  to  adopt  any  fair  and  reciprocal  lule,  as  to  the  further 
exchange  of  such  persons.  « 

7.  Papers  numbered  sixty- four  and  sixty-five,  show  the  preten- 
sions of  the  enemy  as  to  such  persons  as  have  been  tried  under 
the  laws  of  a  sovereign  State  for  offences  against  the  same. 

8.  Papers  from  sixty-six  to  seventy-two,  inclusive,  embrace  all  the 
correspondence  in  which  Gen.  E.  A.  Hitchcock  has  borne  a  part.  It 
seems  there  are  two  commissioners  of  exchange,  on  the  part  of  the 
Federal  government.  How  far  the  authority  of  each  extends,  or  how 
far  ono  is  subordinate  to  the  other,  has  not  as  yet  clearly  appeared. 
The  future  may  perhaps,  explain  that  they  may   be   put  to   separate 


65 


^riftfiM  I  "'\''  ^^\°-  "i*^^^'^^'^'  ^^^^nng  date  November 
:.P  !?'  .,  ^^*"^««^'  ^^th  the  following  indorsement,  to  wit  • 
-Protesting  that  the  statement  of  facts  contained  in  this  pape'is  !-»: 
Jved''     ^^^'^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^« -"^^or  as  unfit  to  be  either   ^vr^itL  or  IL 

it  aTmy'report^  "''^''  '^  '^''  correspondence,  I  respectfully  subK:U 
Respectfuiyy, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD,  Agent  of  Exchange, 


5 


CX)RRE8rONDEN(  K 

fhlative  to  the  Arrest  arid  Detnition  of  ]Sfo?i-  Combatants, 


• 


[No.  1.] 
MR.  OULD  TO  LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW. 
Confederate  States  of  America,  War  Department, 


MERicA,  War  Department,      > 
Richmond,  Va.,  Oct.  4,  1862.  J 


L-.at.  Col,  Wm.  H.  Ludlow, 

Agent  of  Exchange : 
ftiy. : 

I  also  bring  to  your  attention  the  case  of  peaceable,  non-com-' 
I  .i-int  citixens  of  4he  Confederate  States,  taken,  in  some  instances, 
Tr?*h  almost  every  possible  indignity,  from  their  homes  and  thrown 
i.'o  military  prisonp.  I  do  not  utter  it  in  the  way  of  a  threat,  but 
C'  .idor  demands  that  I  should  say,  that  if  this  course  is  persisted  in, 
i!t.2  Confederate  Government  will  be  compelled,  by  a  sense  of  duty  to' 
i*.  own  citizens,  to  resort  to  retaliatory  measures.  In  no  one  in- 
sl/'noe  have  the  Confederate  authorities  sanctioned  the  arrest  of  any 
ci'izen  of  any  one  of  the  United  States  found  in  the  exercise  of  a  law- 
fv.)  and  peaceful  business.  If  such  a  case  can  be  found,  the  wrong 
will  be  speedily  righted.  Such  cases  not  being  within  the  rules  of 
r;ilitary  capture,  are  not,  therefore,  the  proper  subjects  of  exchange 
cirler  a  cartel.  Hundreds  of  cases  have  been  brought  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Confederate  authorities,  where  parties  in  pursuit  of  their 
ordinary  occupations,  and  not  bearing  arms,  and  not  being  in  any 
V  'litarj  organization,  have  been  arrested,  dragged  from  their  homes, 
and  thrown  into  prisons,  where  they  remain  to  this  day,  even  though 
the  United  States  forces,  which  made  the  arrest,  have  been  withdrawn 
from  the  neighborhood  where  it  was  made.  The  Confederate  Govern- 
i::.nt  can  in  no  way,  whether  by  a  system  of  exchanges  or  otherwise, 
r-  'Agnize  the  right  of  the  United  States  to  invade  its  territory,  arrest, 
CcTry  off,  and  detain  indefinitely  its  peaceable  citizens.  In  any  case 
ti-^iere  an  exchange  is  propo/jod,  if  the  situation  of  the  parties  is  the 
game,  it  will  be  cheerfully  made.  The  Confederate  Government, 
k->ever,  has  not  arrested  your  peaceable  citizens,  and  has  none 
of  ikat  class  to  offer  in  exchange  for  such  of  the  Confederacy  as  have 
I  • -^n  taken.  To  exchange  such  as  we  have  the  right  to  capture,  ac- 
cording to  the  usages  of  war,  for  our  own  peaceable  citizens,  unlaw- 
fr.Wy  and  unjustly  taken,  as  we  think,  would  be  a  quasi  recognition  of 


67 

your  right  to  make  such  captures,     I  trust,  therefore,  that  the  United 
States  Government  will  unconditionally  release  all  citizens  of  the  Con- 
federate States  belonging  to  the  class  to  which  I  have  referred. 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD,  Ag€?it  of  Exchange. 


[No.  2.] 
LIEUT.  COL,  LUDLOW  TO  MR.  oULD. 

IlEAnqUARTERS   7tH   ArmV  CoRPS,         ) 

Fort  Monroe,  Va  ,  Dec.  3,  1S62.  \ 
Hon.  Robert  Ould, 

Agent  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners  : 

Sir:  Since  I  wrote  to  you  this  morning,  information  lias  been 
given  me  that  some  thirty  or  forty  citizens  of  Pennsylv.'^nia,  non* 
combatants,  were  seized  by  order  of  General  Stewart,  in  his  lato 
incursion  into  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  and  were  ccu-veyed  to 
Richmond.  This  is  so  clearly  in  contiavention  of  the  positions  you 
have  laid  down,  that  I  need  only  mention  the  fact  to  you.  to  insure 
their  immediate  delivery  to  Capt.  Mulford,  in  charge  of  the  flag  of 
truce. 

I  am,  very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  H.  LUDLOW, 
Lieut.  Col.,  and  Agent  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners. 


[iNo.  3.] 
MR.  OULD  TO  LIEUT,  COL.  LUDLOW. 

llicH.MOND,  Va.,  Dec.  11,  1862. 
Lieut,  Col.  Wm.  ri.  Lui'i.ow, 

Agent  of  Exchange : 

Sir  :  With  reference  to  the  Pennsylvania  non-combatants  captured 
by  General  Stewart,  and  whose  release  you  ask  in  your  letter  of  the 
«d  inBt.,  I  beg  leave  respectfully  to  state  that  they  were  captured,  and  arc 
now  held  only  in  retaliation  for  captures  of  non-combatant  citizens  of 
the  Confederate  States.  As  soon  as  your  Government  releases  the 
non-combatants  of  the  Confederate  States,  now  held  by  you,  and 
agrees  to  abandon  the  policy  of  making  such  captures  in  the  future, 
<r,  in  other  words,  as  soon  as  your  Government  agrees  substantially 
tr  the  proposition  relating  to  euch  captures,  which  I  made  to  you  at 


68 

cur  last  interview,  these  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  will  be  uncondition- 
lilly  released.  You  have  in  your  militr.ry  prisons  at  this  time  a  far 
larger  number  cf  persons  who  were  arrested  on  Confederate  soil,  while 
engaged  in  no  acts  of  hostility  to  your  Govcrnm^rut,  than  we  have  in 
ours.  IIow  can  you  claim  the. release  of  your  non-combatants  when 
you  retain  ours  ?  How  can  you  ask  us  to  release  your  non-combat- 
ants when  you  refuse  to  agree  that  ours  shall  not,  be  captured?  In 
retaining  these  Pennsylvanians,  the  Confederate  Government  does  not 
abandon  its  position  so  often  reiterated,  that  the  capture  of  non-com- 
batants is  illegal,  and  contrary  to  the  usages  of  civilized  warfare. 
The  Confederate  Government  is  anxious  to  put  an  end  to  any  such 
practice.  It  has  protested  earnestly  and  persistently  against  it. 
When  those  protests  failed  to  :iccoinj)lish  the  desired  end,  a  sense  of 
duty  to  its  own  citizens  demanded  that  the  Confederate  Government 
should  resort  to  other  means.  May  I  not  hope  that  the  United  States 
Government  will  promptly  settle  this  whole  matter  by  a  release  of 
6U£h  Confederate  citizens  as  aie  now  in  prison,  and  who,  when  cap- 
tured, were  connected  with  no  military  organization,  and  by  a  dis- 
•avowal  of  any  purpose  to  make  any  such  arrests  in  the  future  / 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD,  .^!^ent  of 'Exchange, 


^  [No.  4.] 

LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW  TO  MR.  OULD. 

1Ie:adqu.vrtf.t^.s  Depart.mknt  or  Virginia,  7th  Ak.mv  Corps,       } 

Fort  3I<mroc,  June  2,  18G3.  j[ 
Hon.  HoBLRT  Outi), 

Agent  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners  : 

Sir  :  A.  D.  Richardson  and  Junius  II.  Browne,  correspondents  ot 
^the  New  York  Tribune,  captured  about  the  4th  of  May  last,  near 
Vicksburg,  are  said  to  be  confined  in  the  Libby  Prison,  Mr.  Col- 
burn,  the  correspondent  of  the  New  York  H'orld,  who  was  captured 
with  them,  haa  been  releas^cd.  It  has  been  the  practice  to  treat  at- 
taches of  the  press  as  non-combatants,  and  not  to  retain  them.  The 
release  of  Mr.  Colburn  is  a  partial  recognition  of  this  practice.  Will 
jou  please  inform  me  if  you  will  release  Pichardson  and  Prowne,  and 
if  not,  why  not. 

I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Y'our  obedient  servant, 

Wir.  11.  LUDLOW, 
Lieut.  Col.,  and  Agent  for  Exchcnge  of  Pi  isoners. 


69 

[No.  5.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW. 

Richmond,  Va.,  June  o,  (8G3. 
Lieut.  Col.  Wm.  II.  Ludlow, 

Agent  of  Exchange. 

Sir  :  In  one  of  jour  communications  of  the  2d,  you  refer  to  tiie 
correspondents  of  the  press,  and  say  it  has  been  the  practice  "to  treat 
them  as  non-combatants,  and  not  to  retain  them."  I  have  been 
struggling  for  nearly  twelve  months  to  establish  just  such  a  rule  as  to 
non-combatants,  without  success.  The  only  difficulty  I  met,  was  in 
your  consent.  When  was  the  rule  established  that  non-combatants 
were  not  to  be  retained  ?  What  was  the  date  of  its  adoption  by  Burn- 
side,  or  Rosencrans,  or  Milroy  ?  What  peculiar  immunity  should  the 
correspondents  of  the  Tribune  have  ove»'  an  old  grey-headed  grand- 
father, who  never  shouldered  a  musket,  or  foll(twed  in  the  wake  of  an 
army?  Wherein  are  they  privileged  over  delicate  and  noble-souled 
women,  who  are  either  languishing  in  your  prisons  or  "released"  to 
the  rigors  and  dani^'ers  of  the  wilderness  ? 

It  seems  to  me  that  if  any  exception  be  made  as  to  any  non-com- 
batants, it  should  be  against  such  men  as  Tribune  correspondents, 
who  have  had  more  share  even  than  your  soldiery  in  bringing  rapine, 
pillage,  and  desolation  to  our  homes.  I  have  no  compassion  for  any 
such,  even  if  their  miseries  were  ten-fold  greater.  You  ask  me  why 
I  will  not  release  them.  'Tis  because  they  are  the  worst  and  mo.>?t 
obnoxious  of  all  non-combatants.  Yet,  bad  as  they  are,  deeply  as 
they  have  wronged  and  outraged  us,  they  will  be  released  if  you  will 
only  discharge  froin  imprisonment  men  and  women  *'  the  latchets  of 
whose  slioes  they  are  unworthy  to  unloose." 

Mr.  Colburn  was  released  because  Mr.  Barr,  a  correspondent  of  the 
Grenada  Appeal,  ^^as  held  by  your  authorities  for  one  of  the  three 
correspondents,  and  it  came  within  the  rule  of  our  "  sovereign  will 
and  pleasure"  to  release  him.  Moreover,  if  I  had  been  disposed  to 
ignore  Mr.  Colburn,  it  would  have  given  me  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to 
make  a  selection  between  the  Tribune's  correspondent.*!. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD,  Agent  of  Exchange. 


[No.  6.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

''     Richmond,  Va.,  August  I,  1m63. 
Hrig.  Gen.  ."S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange : 
Sir  : 

•  •*••* 

For  the  purpose  of  showing  to  you  the  position  of  the  Confederate 
Government  in  relation  to  the  imprisonment  of  non-cotabatants,  I  now 


7l> 

renew  to  you  the  proposal  which  I  have  frequently  tendered  to  your 
predecei^sor.  I  propose  that  all  the  non-combatants  now  held  in  prison, 
on  either  side,  he  immediately  and  unconditionally  released ;  and  that 
no  captures  of  non-combatants  shall  hereafter  be  made.  If  the 
latter  branch  of  this  proposition  is  too  broad,  I  will  thank  you  to  sug- 
gest any  proper  modification. 
.   ,  UespectfuUy.  your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD,   Agent  of  Exchange, 


[No.  7.] 

BRIG.  (iEN.  MEREDITH  TO  MR.  OULD. 

Headquarters  Dei^artment  of  VirginIa,  7th  Armv  Corps,      ) 

Fort  Monroe,  August  27,  1863.  ] 

Hon.  R  )BERT  OuLD, 

Agent  of  Exchange,  Richmond,  Va.: 

Sir:  I  would  again  earnestly  call  your  attention  to  the  case  of 
Messrs.  Richardson  and  Brown,  correspondents  of  the  New  York  Tri- 
bune. In  yours  of  August  20,  you  state  "  that  there  is  no  fair  and 
reciprocal  rule  which  may  be  proposed  for  mitigating  the  horrors  of 
this  war,  that  will  not  be  cheerfully  adopted  by  the  Confederate  au- 
thorities." Now,  sir,  I  think  that  the  Confederate  authorities  cculd 
not  have  a  better  opportunity  for  reciprocating,  than  in  the  case  of 
the  two  gentlemen  above  named  ;  for,  when  Vicksburg  was  captured, 
the  editors  of  the  Whig  and  Citizen  fell  into  our  hands,  and  were  im- 
mediately paroled  and  sent  away.  If  you  are  sincere,  then,  in  your 
offers,  1  call  upon  you  to  give  me  evidence  thereof,  by  immediately 
releasing  Messrs.  Richardson  and  Brown. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  A.  MEREDITH, 
Brig.  Gen.,  and  Commissioner  for  Exchange. 


[No.  8.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

RicHMOM),  August  28,  1863. 
Ung  'jen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange : 

Sir  :  I  still  adhere  to  my  declaration  of  the  2()th  instant,  in  respect 
to  the  release  of  non-combatants.  To  that,  and  almost  every  other 
communication  involving  a  principle,  you  have  not  replied.  Fairness 
requires  that  you  should  answer  it,  in  some  form,  before  you  criticisft 


71 

it.  Will  you  agree  to  the  unconditional  reieaae  of  all  non^coL-ibatan:.^  ? 
Your  reference  to  the  parole  of  the  editors  of  the  Whi^'  ;ind  Citizc.i, 
at  Vicksburg,  has  no  sort  of  force.  They  wore  paroled  by  the  teri'is 
of  surrender,  and  not  by  any  special  grace  of  your  authoiitiea.  Y-  a 
could  not  have  retained  thera  without  a  breach  of  the  terms  of  capif  4- 
lation.  Their  cases  are  in  no  respect  analogous  to  tho^c  of  RicS- 
ardson  and  Brown,  except  in  their  avocation  of  driving  the  qui. I. 
Richardson  and  Brown  will  be  released  just  as  soon  as  yoa  agree  ?•> 
discharge  non-combatants.  1  still  say,  there  is  no  fair  and  reciproc  .1 
rule  which  may  be  proposed  for  mitigating  the  horrors  of  this  wf^r, 
that  will  not  be  cheerfully  adopted  by  the  Confederate  autiiorities. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD,  Agent  of  Bzchan^r^ 


[No.  9.} 
BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH  TO  MR.  OULD. 

HKAnQLlARTERS   DEPARTMENT  OF  YlRGINIA,   7tII  ArMV   CoRI'S,         / 

Fort  Mori oe,  2\.ug.  14,  1863.  S 
Hon.  Robert  Ould, 

Commissioner  for  Exchange,  Richmond,  Va. : 

ScR :  Mr.  Daniel  Gerhart,  an  old  and  wealthy  citizen  of  Ohio,  v  :is 
taken  prisoner  at  Winchester,  Va.,  while  attending  a  son  d!ingerou>.ly 
ill,  and  is  now  confined  at  Richmond.  Can  nothinir  be  done  to  exp<)- 
dite  the  release  of  this  gentleman  ? 

Respectfully,  your,  obedient  servant, 

S.  A.  MEREDITH, 
Brig.  Gen.,  and  Commissioner  for  Exchmi^*:, 


[No.  10.1 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

RicHVOD,  Yk.,  August  20,  1863. 
Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange : 

Sir:  Your  communication  of  the  lUh  instant,  respecting  ^Mr.  Daiii.l 
Gerhart,  has  been  received.  You  say  ho  was  taken  prisoner  r.t 
Winchester,  while  attending  a  son  dangerously  ill,  and  inquiv.j 
whether  anything  can  bo  done  to  expedite  his  release.  Undoubtedly, 
Bomcthing  can  be  done.  Release  our  non-combatants,  whom  yc  i 
have  in  prison,  and  Mr.  Gerhart  ip.  instantly  free.  I  hope  there  is 
enough  strength  in  Mr.  Gerhart'*j  case,  he  being  a  *'  wealthy  citizrv. 


of  Ohio,"  to  accomplish  what  justice  and  raercj  hare  asked  in  rain,  for 
more  than  a  year. 

Respectfullr,  your  obedient  servant, 

B.O:0\]hT),  A §"711  of  Exchange. 


No.  11.] 

1;KIG.    'iiN.  MEREDITH  TO  MR.  UULD. 

'  Office  CoMMrssioNER  for  Exchangk, 

Fortress  Monroe,  ra.,Oct.  23,  18G3. 

H.n.  RoBLRT  Oli.u. 

Agent  of  Exchange,  Richmond,  Va.: 

Sir:  I  enclose  to  you  herewith,  a  letter  Irom  W.  P.  Wood,  Sujter- 
iutendent  of  the  Old  Capitol  Prison,  addressed  to  Maj.  Gen.  E.  A. 
)I;tchcock,  to  which  I  specially  call  your  attention. 

^Vill  you  release  our  citizens,  whom  you  hold  confined  in  your 
pzisous,  against  whom  there  arc  no  charges?  There  is  no  disposition 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States  authorities  to  harrass  or  annoy  citi- 
r' ns.  'In  all  cases  heretofore,  so  far  as  T  know,  whenever  southern 
citizens  "have  been  arrested,  it  has  been  for  special  reasons,  marking 
th-"  individuals  as  sej  erated  from  the  mass  of  a  coramunity.  I  know 
of  no  citizen  of  the  tSouth  who  is  held  by  the  United  States  authori- 
ties merely  because  lie  belongs  to  the  South.  If  you  know  of  any 
Biich,  name  then>,  and  they  shall  be  sent  home.  Some  time  since,  the 
United  States  authorities  arrested  two  citizens  in  Virginia,  for  special 
cause.  The  Richmond  authorities  arrested  two  supposed  Union  men, 
to  answer  for  those  mentioned  above,  without  any  charges  against 
til  mi.  Why  are  no: -hese  men  released?  Within  twenty-four  hours 
after  any  given  time,  the  United  States  authorities  can  arrest  double 
or  treble  tlie  number  of  citizens  of  the  South,  that  you  hold  of  citizens 
the  North;  and,  though  they  have  hitherto  rcfraine<l  from  the  arrest 
of  citizen.9,  as  such,  the  detention  of  citizens  in  tiic  Richmond  prisons, 
or  elsewhere  in  the  South,  as  Union  men,  may  necessitate  a  recourse 
to  similar  proceed' ):'j;p  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  of  the  United 
States. 

Should  tlie  inflict)oi:.  of  such  misery  on  the  citizens  of  the  South  be 
irz-utruratcd,  on  their  .)wn  authorities  will  rest  the  onus. 
UespectfuDv.  ■'/our  obedient  servant, 

S.  A.  MEREDITH, 
Bri^.  Gen.,  and  Commissioner  for  Exchange. 


7S 


[No.  12.] 

MR.  O'ULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

Confederate  Statk.s  of  America,  War  Dei'akt.ment,      ; 

Richmond,  Va.,  Oct.  31,  1863.  \ 
Urig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange  : 

Sir  :  In  relation  to  your  communication  of  tlio  2;><1  instant,  enclos- 
ing a  letter  f?om  W.  P.  Wood  to  Gen.  Hitchcock,  I  submit  the  fol- 
lowing: 

More  than  a  year  ago.  recognizing  the  injustice  of  the  arrest  of 
non-combatants.  I  submitted  the  following  proposition  to  the  rodcral 
authorities,  to  wit :  "That  peaceable,  non-combatant  citizens,  of  both 
the  United  States  and  the  Confederate  States,  who  are  not  connected 
with  any  military  organization,  shall  not  be  arrested  by  either  the 
United  States  or  Confederate  armies'  within  the  territory  of  the  ad- 
verse party.  If  this  proposition  is  too  broad,  let  the  only  exceptioo 
be  the  case  of  a  temporary  arrest  of  parties  within  army  lines,  where 
the  arresting  party  has  good  reason  to  believe  that  their  presence  i(» 
dangerous  to  the  safety  of  the  army,  from  the  opportunity  afforded  of 
jliving  intelligence  to  the  enemy.  It  is  to  be  understood,  however,  in 
the  latter  case,  the  arrest  is  to  cease  as  soon  as  the  reason  for  making 
it  ceases,  in  the  withdrawal  of  the  army,  or  for  any  other  cause.  This 
proposal  is  understood  to  include  such  arrests  and  imprisonments  as 
are  already  in  force." 

Although  this  proposition,  so  reasonable  and  humane  in  its  terms, 
has  been  before  your  Government  for  more  than  a  year,  it  has  never 
been  accepted.  I  now,  again,  invite  your  attention  to  it.  If  it  does 
not  suit  you,  I  will  thank  you  to  suggest  any  modification.  I  am  will- 
ing to  adopt  any  fair  and  reciprocal  rule  that  will  settle  this  matter 
on  principle.  It  must,  however,  be  settled  by  rule.  It  cannot,  with 
.iny  safety,  be  determined  by  "  special  cases." 

You  ask  me  if  I  will  release  your  citizens,  against  whom  there  are 
no  charges.  Would  it  not  be  more  liberal  to  make  that  offer  on  your 
part,  as  far  as  our  citizens  are  concerned,  before  you  ask  our  consent  ? 
You  have  kept  Confederate  citizens  in  prison  for  many  months,  with- 
•nt  charges.  Most  of  them  have  never  had  any  charges  preferred 
against  them,  although,  in  the  opinion  of  your  authorities,  there  were 
••  special  reasons"  for  their  arrest.  How  easy  is  it  to  give  or  invent 
a  special  reason  ?  In  all  probability,  there  has  never  been  an  arrest 
and  imprisonment,  on  either  side,  since  this  war  began,  for  which 
there  was  not  a  "special  cause."  An  arrest  for  retaliatory  reasons, 
even,  is  special. 

As  far  as  the  arrest  of  citizens  of  the  Confederate  States,  by  our 
authorities,  is  concerned,  we  will  submit  to  no  interference,  in  any 
way,  by  the  Federal  Government.  It  is  a  matter  with  which  you 
have  nothing  to  do      The  Confederate  authorities  do  not  interfere  with 


74 

your  arrests,  of  your  own  people,  no  matter  what  injustice  has  bee:: 
done  to  them.  Any  attempt,  on  the  part  of  the  Federal  Government, 
to  interpose  in  cases  which  only  concern  our  authorities,  and  th»; 
people  of  these  Confederate  States,  may  be  justly  styled  impertinen: 
and  meddlesome.  As  fir,  however,  as  the  arrests  of  citizens  of  th« 
adverse  party  is  concerned,  we  are,  at  all  times,  rcidy  to  adopt  any 
fair  and  reciprocal  rule. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 

RO.  OV LB,  Agent  of  Exchange. 


CORRESPONDENCE 

Relative    to    the    Reter,tion    of   Exchanged    ajid    Unexchanged    Oficer: 

and  Men. 


[No.  13.] 
LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW  TO  MR    OULD. 


•. 


V  Headquarters  Dkp't  of'  Va.,  7th  AriMy  Corps,  ) 

Fort  Monroe,    Va.,  April  8,   1863.         ] 

Hon.  Robert  Ould, 

Agent  for  Exchange  cf  Prisoners  : 

Sir  :  The  best  mode  of  Arranging  all  questions  relating  to  exchang*.- 
of  officers,  is  to  revoke,  formally  or  informally,  the  offensive  procla- 
mation relating  to  our  officers. 

I  simply  ask  that  you  say,  by  authority,  that  such  proclamation  i? 
revoked.  The  spirit  of  that  proclamation  was  the  infliction  of  per- 
sonal indignities  upon  our  officers,  and  as  long  as  it  remains  unre- 
pealed, it  can  be  at  any  moment  put  in  force  by  your  authorities. 
What  assurance  have  we  that  it  will  not  be? 

I  earnestly  desire  a  return  *o  the  cartel  in  all  matters  pertaining 
to  officers,  and  until  such  be  the  case,  and  uniformity  of  rule  bt 
thereby  estabished,  our  exchanges  of  officers  must  be  special.  Some 
of  our  officers,  paroled  at  Vicksburg,  were  subsequently  placed  in  close 
confinement,  and  are  now  so  held.  If,  hereafter,  we  parole  any  of 
your  officers,  such  paroles  will  be  offset  against  any  which  you  may 
possess.  At  present  the  exchanges  will  be  confined  to  such  equiva- 
lents as  are  held  in  confinement  on  either  side. 

I  hope  you  will  soon  be  able  to  remove  all  difficulties  about  officer?. 
by  the  revocation  I  have  mentioned. 

By  reference  to  the  map,  you  will  see  that  Fort  Delaware  is  en 
route  to  Fort  Monroe.  It  is  used  as  a  depot  for  collecting  of  prisoners, 
sent  from  other  places  for  shipment  here,  and  is,  from  its  peculiar 
position,  "well  adapted /or  convenience  for  cxc/iange.'''' 

If  any  mistake  be  found  in  the  account  of  men  paroled  by  Lieut. 
Col.  Richards>  at  Oxford,  Miss.,  on  the  22d  of  December,  1862,  ir. 
can  be  rectified  when  we  meet. 

I  aui,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  H.  LUDDOW, 
Lieut.   Col,  and  Agent  for  Exchange  oj  Prisoners. 

I  have  written  to  Mr.  Hoffman  to  send  T.  J.  Dunn>  company  K, 
18th  Mississippi  regiment,  and  now  said  to  be  at  Locust  Springs. 


:....  N.J  » 

MR.  ODLD  TO  LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW. 

Richmond,  April  11th,   1863. 

Lieut.  Col.  Wm.  it.  Tjudlow, 

Agent  of  Exchange : 

Sir  :  Your  letters  of  the  8th  instant  have  been  receive<L 

I  am  very  much  surprised  at  your  refusal  to  deliver  officers  for 
those  of  your  own  who  have  Leon  captured,  paroled,  and  released  by 
us,  since  the  date  of  the  proclamation  and  message  of  President 
Davis.  That  refusal  is  not  oflly  a  flagrant  breach  of  the  cartel,  but 
can  be  supported  by  no  rule  of  reciprocity  or  equity.  It  is  utterly 
useless  to  argue  any  such  matter.  1  assure  you  that  not  one  officer 
of  any  grade  will  be  delivered  to  you,  until  you  change  your  purpose 
in  that  respect. 

You  have  charged  us  with  breaking  the  cartel.  With  what  .sort  of 
justice  can  that  allegation  be  supported,  when  you  delivered  only  a 
few  days  ago  over  ninety  officers,  most  of  whom  had  been  forced  to 
languish  aiid  suffer  in  prisons  for  mouths  before  we  were  compelled 
by  that  and  other  reasons  to  issue  the  retaliatory  order  of  which  you 
complain  ?  Those  ninety-odd  arc  not  one-half  of  those  whom  you 
unjustly  hold  in  prison.  On  the  other  hand,  I  defy  you  to  name  the 
case  of  cue  who  is  confined  by  us,  whom  our  agreement  has  declared 
exchanged.  Is  it  your  idea  that  we  a^a  to  be  bound  by  every  strict- 
ness of  the  cartel,  while  you  are  at  liberty  to  violate  it  for  months, 
and  that,  too,  not  only  in  a  few  instances,  but  in  hundreds  ?  You 
know  that  our  refusal  to  parole  officers,  was  a  matter  exclusively  of 
retaliation.  It  was  based  only  upon  your  refusal  to  observe  the  require- 
ments of  the  cartel.  All  that  you  had  to  do  to  remove  the  obnoxious 
measure  of  retaliation,  was  to  observe  the  provisions  of  the  cartel 
;ind  redreps  the  Avroiigs  which  had  been  perpetrated. 

Your  last  resolution,  if  persisted  in,  settles  the  matter.  You  need 
i.ot  send  any  officers  to  City  Point,  with  the  expectation  of  getting 
an  equivalent  in  officers,  so  long  as  you  refuse  to  deliver  any  for 
those  whom  we  have  released  on  parole  in  Tennessee  and  Kentucky. 
If  captivity,  ])rivation,  and  misery  are  to  be  the  fate  of  officers  on 
both  sides  hereafter,  let  God  judge  between  us.  I  have  struggled  in 
this  matter,  as  if  it  had  been  a  matter  of  life  and  death  to  me.  I  am 
heartsick  at  the  termination,  but  I  have  no  self  reproaches. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  OULD, 

Agent  of  Exchange 


[Xo    1.5. 
MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

RiCHMONo,  Oct.  2d,  1863 

Brigadier  General  S.  A.  Meredlth, 

Agent  for  Exchange  : 

Sir  :  I  am  very  glad  that  Lieuts.  Baker,  Pumphrey,  Crutcher, 
and  Thorpe  have  at  last  been  released.  There  are  many  other 
officers  yet  behind,  precisely  in  their  situation.  I  have  frequently 
given  a  list  of  them  to  your  predecessor.  I  will  furnisli  you  one  if 
you  desire  it.  You  say  the  above-named  have  been  detained  by  "some 
unaccountable  mistake."  Each  of  their  names,  with  the  places  of 
confinement,  has  been  more  than  once  presented  to  the  Federal  agent. 
Lieut.  Baker  was  at  Fortress  Monroe,  the  headquarter*  of  the  Agent 
of  Exchange,  for  months.     It  is,  indeed,  "unaccountable." 

I  will  make  inquiry  as  to  John  W.  Woolsey.  Brengle  did  not 
belong  to  the  sanitary  commission.  He  was  arrested  upon  his  return 
from  a  difficult  and  hazardous  military  enterprise  for  which  he  was 
specially  employed  and  paid.  If  you  can  bring  him  within  the  rule 
established  as  to  members  of  the  sanitary  commission,  I  will  release 
him. 

Charles  W.  Webster  is  at  Castle  Thunder.  He  ia  a  citizen,  abiding 
in  captivity  until  you  release  the  non-combatants  arrested  on  our 
soil  and  carried  oft'  to  your  prison.-^.  I  will  make  inquiry  into  the 
case  of  Henry  D.  Barnctt. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  OULD, 

Agent  for  Exchange. 


[No.  16.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRKi.  (iEN.  MEREDITH. 

C.  S.  A.,  War  Dep.\rtment, 
Richmond,  Va.,  Oct.  23,  1863 


.1 


Brig.  Gen,  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  K.rchnnge  .' 

Sir  ;  Capt.  Frank  Battle,  2()th  regiment  Tennessee  volunteers,  C. 
S.  A.,  is  now  and  has  been  for  some  time  past  in  irons  at  Nashville. 
It  is  alleged  that  he  is  ironed  in  retaliation  for  similar  treatment 
inflicted  by  the  Confederate  authorities,  upon  (^apt.  Shade  Harris, 
company  D,  3d  East  Tennessee  cavalry,  who  was  captured  on  or  about 
ihe  2*>th  (f  December,    1862.      I  have  soon   a  special   order,  No.  ol, 


"^8 

iasued  by  Brig.  Gen.  U.  S.  Granger,  datcil  August  3d,  1863,  in  which 
it  is  directed  that  Capt.  Battle  shall  be  so  treated  and  held. 

Capt.  Shade  Harris,  before  he  joined  the  Federal  army,  was  a 
Confederate  soldier.  lie  deserted,  and  was  subsequently  captured  in 
arms.  Fur  the  crime  of  desertion^  he  was  tried  before  a  court  martial, 
found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  death.  Before  conviction,  he  was 
neither  closely  confined  or  ironed.  His  father  had  access  to  him  both 
both  before  and  after  his  trial.  The  President;  in  mercy,  commuted 
the  sentence  to  imprisonment  For  that  imprisonment  your  authori- 
ties have  seen  fit  to  put  in  irons  and  close  imprisonment  an  officer 
captured  in  open  warfare  and  against  whom  no  personal  charges  have 
been  preferred.  I  am  very  sure  this  statement  is  in  entire  conformity 
Aith  the  fact?.  If  so,  you  deny  our  authority  to  try  and  punish  a 
deserter  from  our  army,  even  when  the  desertion  is  inflamed  and  made 
more  heinous  by  direct  support  and  succor  to  the  enemy.  I  am 
etrongly  in  hope  that  the  mere  statement  of  this  case  is  sufficient  to 
8how  the  mauifept  wrong  of  the  proceedings  against  Capt.  Battle.  I 
will  thank  you  to  inform  me,  if,  upon  the  foregoing  facts,  your  Gov- 
ernment justifies  its  treatment  of  Capt.  Battle,  and  whether  you 
intend,  by  any  form  of  retaliation  upon  our  soldiers,  to  contest  our 
right  to  punish  desertion  from  our  service,  where  the  offending  party 
has  subsequently  joined  your  array  and  been  captured  by  our  forces. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  OULD, 

Jgfnt  of  Exchange^ 


COllRfiSPONDEKCE 

Relative  (c  the  General  Orders  of  the  United  States,  and  their  connection 
with  declarations  of  Exchange. 


[No.   17,] 
MR.  OULD  TO  LIEUT.  COL.   LUDLOW. 

Richmond,  Juno  19,  1863, 

Lieut.  Col.  Wm.  H.  Ludlow, 

Agent  of  Exchange  : 

Sir  :  Oa  the  5th  day  of  June,  1863,  I  requested  you  to  inform  me 
w-hen  general  order,  No.  100,  was  to  be  considered  as  going  into  effect. 
To  that  you  have  returned  no  answer.  Its  date  is  April  24,  18G3. 
You  delivered  it  to  me  on  the  23d  May,  1863. 

I  perceive  by  a  general  order,  No.  15,  March  9th,  1863,  issued  by 
'>eneral  Schcnck,  that  all  officers  and  men,  Tvho  had  been  captured  in 
his  department,  and  particularly  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and 
released  on  parole,  and  not  regularly  exchanged,  should  return  to 
duty  and  service,  on  penalty  of  being  considered  deserters.  When 
you  delivered  general  order,  No.  100,  to  me,  I  inquired  of  you  as  to 
the  date  when  it  went  into  effect,  I  understood  you  to  say,  the  date 
of  its  delivery.  You  may,  therefore,  well  imagine  my  surprise,  when 
I  perceive  that  by  the  general  order  of  one  of  your  departmental  com- 
manders, the  new  provisions  as  to  paroles,  are  not  only  to  have  effect 
trom  and  after  March  9th,  1863,  but  are  made  to  apply  to  all  cases 
previous  to  that  date,  without  any  limitation  as  to  time.  This  is  not 
.)nly  contrary  to  your  own  declarations  to  me,  but  to  our  common 
practice  up  to  May  23d,  1863.  You  have  charged  against  me  and 
received  credit  for  several  captures  naade  by  General  Stoneman's  com- 
raand,  in  his  recent  raid.  Is  it  pretended  that  you  are  to  have  credit 
for  captures  made  by  your  commands,  while  none  is  to  be  given  to  us 
under  precisely  the  same  circumstances  ?    Is  this  fair,  or  just,  c-  right  ? 

ReBpectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RO.   OULD, 
Agent  of  Exdiange. 


•  80 

[No.  18.] 
LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW  TO  MR.  OULD. 

IUmk'Ix  FIXERS,  DK.rARTMENT  OF   VlRGI.NIA,  ^ 

«  Seventh  Army  Corps,  ^ 

Fort  Monroe,  July  7,   1863.      ) 

lion.  RoiiKRT  Uli.d, 

Agent  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners  : 

Sjr  :  I  herewith  enclose  to  you  a  copy  of  general  order-  No.  207. 
Tvhich  contains  some  additional  provisions  to  those  mentioned  in  ray 
comrannication  to  you  of  the  22d  May  last.  It  is  understood  that 
officers  of  the  Ignited  State's,  and  (3onfeiler:ite  officers  have  at  various 
times  antl  places  paroled  and  released  prisoners  of  war,  not  in  accord- 
ance with  the  cartel. 

The  (iovernincnt  of  the  United  States  will  not  recognize,  and  will 
not  expect  the  Confederate  authorities  to  recognize,  such  unauthorized 
paroles.  Prisoners  released  on  parole,  not  authorized  by  the  cartel. 
after  ray  notice  to  you  of  the  22d  May,  will  not  be  regarded  as  prison- 
ers of  war,  and  will  not  be  exchanged. 

When   prisoners  of  war  have  been  released  without  the  delivery 

specified    in  the  cartel,  since  the  22d  May  last,  such  release  will  be 

regarded  as   unconditional,  and  the  prisoners  released,  as  subject  to 

orders  without  exchange,  the  same  as  if  they  had  never  been  captured. 

1  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WxM.  II.  LUDLOW, 
Lieut.  Col.  and  Aient  for  Exchange  of  Pi-isoncrs, 


[No.  19.] 


War  DEPARTiMENT, 

Adjutant  General's  Office-. 
Washington,  I).  C,  July  3,  1863. 

General  Orders, 
No.  207. 

I.  The  attention  of  all  persons  in  the  military  service  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  is  called ^to  article  seven  of  the  cartel,  agreed  upon  on  the 
22d  of  July,  1«G2,  and  published  in  general  orders  No.  142,  Septem- 
ber 25th,  186 2.  According  to  the  terms  of  this  cartel,  all  captures 
must  be  reduced  to  actual  possession,  and  all  prisoners  of  war  must 
be  delivered  at  the  places  designated,  there  to  be  exchanged,  or 
paroled  until  exchange  can  be  effected.  The  only  exception  allowed 
18  the  case  of  commanders  of  two  opposing  armies,  who  are  authorized 


81 

lo  exchange  prisoners,  or  to  release   them   on  parole   at  other  point? 
mutually  agi-eed  upon  by  saic.l  commamieir^. 

II.  It  is  understood  that  captured  oincers  and  luen  have  been 
paroled  and  released  in  the  field  by  otliers  than  commanders  of  oppos- 
ing armies,  and  that  the  sick  and  wounded  in  hospitals  have  been  so 
paroled  and  released,  in  order  to  avoid  guarding  and  removing  them, 
•which,  in  many  cases,  would  have  been  impossible*"  Such  paroles  are 
in  violation  of  general  orders  and  the  stipulations  of  the  cartel,  and 
are  null  and  void.  They  are  not  regarded  by  the  enemy,  and  will  not 
be  respected  in  the  armies  of  the  United  States.  Any  officer  or 
soldier  who  gives  such  parole  will  be  returned  to  duty  without 
exchange,  and,  moreover,  will  be  punished  for  disobedience  of  orders. 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  captor  to  guard  his  prisoners,  and  if,  through 
necessity  or  choice  he  fail  to  do  this,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  pri.soner  to 
return  to  the  service  of  his  Government.  He  cannot  avoid  this  duty 
by  giving  an  unauthorirxd  military  parole. 

III.  A  military  'parole  not  to  serve  till  exchanged,  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  a  parok  of  honor  to  do  or  not  to  do  a  particular  thing 
not  inconsistent  with  the  duty  of  a  soldier.  Thus,  a  prisoner  of  war, 
actually  held  by  the  enemy,  may,  in  order  to  obtain  exemption  from  a 
close  guard  or  confinement,  pledge  his  parole  of  honor  that  he  will 
make  no  attempt  to  escape.  Such  pledges  are  binding  upon  the 
individuals  giving  them,  but  they  should  seldom  be  given  or  received, 
for  it  is  the  duty  of  the  prisoner  to  escape,  if  able  to  do  so.  Any 
pledge  or  parole  of  honor  extorted  from  a  prisoner  by  ill-usage  or 
cruelty  is  not  binding. 

IV.  The  obligations  imposed  by  the  general  laws  and  usages  of 
•war  upon  the  non-combatant  inhabitants  of  a  section  of  country  passed 
over  by  an  invading  army,  cease  when  the  military  occupation  ceases, 
and  any  pledge  or  parole  given  by  such  persons  in  regard  to  future 
eervice,  is  null  and  of  no  ellect. 

By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 

IE.  D.  TOWNSSEND, 
Asaisiant  Adjutant  General. 
(Official  copy,)  J.   C.  KELTON, 

Assisiant  Adjutant  General. 
Headquarters  Armv.,  July  8,  1-863. 


[No.  2(».] 
MR.  O'ULD  TO  LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW. 

CoNFEDERATiE    StaTES  <XV    AmERICA,   WaR  DEPARTMENT,         ) 

RichmoTul,  Va.,  July  13,  1863.  \ 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Wm.  H.  Ludlow, 

Ageitt  of  Exchange : 

SjR :  I  have  declared  exchanged  Lieutenant   General  Pemberton, 
Majors  Geii€a:al  St&r«n6on,  Forney,  M.  L.  Smith,  and  Bowen ;  Brig- 


82 

adier  Generals  Barton,  Lee,  Cumming,  Moore,  Hebert,  Baldwin, 
Vaughan,  and  Shoup ;  Colonels  Reynolds,  Waul,  and  Cockerill;  and 
Brigadier  General  Harris,  of  the  Missouri  militia;  all  of  whom  were 
recently  captured  and  paroled  at  Vicksburg. 

You   can    take    the  equivalents   out  of  the  oflficera   captured    and 
Daroled  by  ns  at  Chancellorsville,  or  from  privates,  as  you  prefer. 
Respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant 

RO.  OULD, 
Agent  of  JExchanf^e. 


[No.  21.] 
LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW  TO  MR.  OULD. 

IIkadquarters  Dkp't  ok  ViBniNrA,  7th  Army  Corps,      > 

Fort  Monroe,  July  14,  1863.  \ 

Hon.  Robert  Ould, 

Agent  for  Exchange  of  Prismiers  : 

Sir  :  I  decline  to  unite  with  you  in  your  declaration  of  the  exchange 
of  the  officers  named  by  you  in  your  communication  of  the  13th 
instant,  just  received,  and  who  form  a  part  of  those  captured  at 
Vicksburg. 

In  violation  of  the  cartel,  you  now  hold,  in  close  confinement,  many 
of  our  officers,  though  their  release  was  long  ago  demanded,  and  their 
equivalents  tendered  to  you.  You  even  permitted  these  equivalents 
'.o  be  sent  back  to  Fort  Monroe  Irom  City  Point.  In  this  position  of 
'i.ffairs,  and  being  in  entire  ignorance  of  what  you  propose  to  do  with 
our  officers  now  in  your  hands,  I  must  decline  any  special  arrange- 
ments until  we  meet.  This  meeting,  with  your  consent,  will  take 
place  as  soon  as  I  shall  have  received  the  paroles  of  the  Vicksburg 
captures. 

Please,  therefore,  notify  the  officers  named  by  you,  that  their 
i^xchange  cannot  be  recognized  by  uur  authorities,  until  the  declara- 
lions  be  united  in  by  me. 

In  making  arrangements  with  you  for  exchanges  of  paroles  of 
officers,  I  shall  expect  to  exhaust  equivalents  of  equal  rank,  before 
we  take  up  those  of  higher  rank. 

To  settle  all  difficulties  connected  with  exchanges  of  officers.  I 
igain  invite  you  to  a  return  to  the  cartel,  and  if  you  refuse,  I  again 
ask  you,  why  such  refusal. 

I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  II.  LUDLOW, 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  Agent  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners. 


83 

The  declaration  of  exchange  made  bj  you  on  the  2d  instant,  leave 
you  in  debt  to  me  between  eight  and  nine  hundred  men.  Please  make 
no  more  declarations  until  we  meet. 


[No.  22.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW. 

Richmond,  July  17,  1863, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Wm.  H.  Ludlow, 

Agen'  of  Exchange : 

Sir  :  In  my  communication  to  you  of  the  13th  instant,  declaring 
the  exchange  of  certain  officers  who  hfid  been  captured  and  paroled  at 
Vicksburg,  I  only  did  what  you  yourself  have  frequently  done.  On 
at  least  one  occasion,  you  went  farther  than  I  presumed  to  go  You' 
declared  your  men  exchanged,  when  you  had  no  equivalents  to  offer. 
You  say  in  your  letter  of  the  14th  instant,  that  you  decline  lo  unite 
with  me  in  my  declaration,  and  request  me  to  notify  the  ofircfU's  that 
their  exchange  cannot  be  recognized.  I  call  your  attention  to  the 
fifth  article  of  the  cartel,  which  provides  that  "  each  party  upon  the 
discharge  of  prisoners  of  the  other  party,  is  authorized  to  discharge 
an  equal  number  of  their  own  officers  or  men  from  parole."  I  have 
exercised  a  clear  right  under  the  cartel — one  that  you  have  exercised 
over  and  over  again.  I  have  already  delivered  to  you  the  equivalents 
of  these  officers,  which  equivalents  you  may  declare  exchanged.  My 
right  to  declare  these  officers  exchanged  docs  not  depend  upon  your 
assent.  After  I  have  given  you  equivalents,  their  exchange  is  per- 
fected by  my  declaration,  whether  you  "decline  t%  unite"  with  me 
or  not.  I  shall  not,  therefore,  give  the  notice  which  you  request. 
The  officers  referred  to  are  already  rightfully  and  properly  exchanged. 
The  right  to  declaie  officers  and  men  exchange(l  wliere  equivalents 
have  been  delivered,  is  one  that  I  cannot  yield,  and  I  am  unwilling 
to  bind  myself  by  an  agreement  not  to  exercise  that  right  *'  until  we 
meet." 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD, 
Agent  of  Exdmnge. 


84 

[No.  23.] 
LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW  TO  MR.  OULD. 

New  York,  July  22,  1863, 

Hon.  RoRERT  OuLD, 

Agent  for  JExckangc  of  Prisoners  : 

Sir:  Your  communication  of  the  I7th  instant  has  been  forwarded 
to  me  here. 

There  is  no  authority  in  the  cartel  for  your  proposed  declaration  of 
exchange  of  your  officers  captured  at  Vicksburg,  in  the  manner  you 
indicate.  The  cartel  provides  for  exchanges  of  equal  rank,  until  such 
are  exhausted,  and  then  for  equivalents. 

In  consequence  of  the  very  much  larger  number  of  officers  and 
men  we  hold  on  parole  and  in  confinement,  you  can  give  no  equiva- 
lents for  the  general  officers  you  desire  to  have  exchanged.  You 
cannot,  for  a  moment,  assume  that  you  can  select  a  general  officer, 
and  declare  his  equivalents  in  those  of  inferior  rank,  when  we  hold 
'the  paroles  of  your  officers  of  the  same  rank  as  the  latter.  But  even 
supposing  this  arrangement  >vas  permitted  by  the  cartel,  I  do  not  see 
how  you  could  avail  yourself  of  it  at  this  time.  You  will  recollect 
that  since  the  proclamation  of  the  Hon.  Jefferson  Davis,  of  December 
last,  and  more  especially  since  the  passage  of  the  act  of  your  Con- 
gress in  reference  to  our  captured  officers,  both  of  which  were  in  vio- 
lation of  the  cartel,  and  have  caused  in  the  one  case  atemporary,  and 
in  the  other  a  continued  suspension  of  exchanges  of  officers  under  the 
cartel  that  all  such  exchanges  have  been  subjects  of  special  agreement 
between  us.  To  avoid  the  complication  and  annoyance  of  these 
special  agreements,  I  have  again  and  again  urged  you  to  a  return  to 
the  cartel,  but  up  to  the  present  moment  in  vain.  On  the  contrary, 
you  retain  in  close  confinement  large  numbers  of  our  officers  for  whom 
I  have  made  a  demand  and  tendered  equivalents.  Until  you  consent 
to  a  return  to  the  terms  prescribed  by  the  cartel  for  exchanges  of 
officers,  I  shall  not  consent  to  any  exchanges  of  them,  except  on 
special  agreements. 

I  repeat  that  I  decline  to  unite  in  your  proposed  declaration  of 
exchange  of  officers  captured  at  Vicksburg,  and  if  recaptured  they 
will  be  dealt  with  as  violators  of  their  parole. 

Ought  you  not,  in  justice  to  them,  to  notify  them  of  the  exact 
condition  of  their  cases,  and  thus  enable  them  to  avoid  being  placed 
in  a  false  position. 

If  you  are  authorized  to  deliver  our  officers  now  held  in  close  con- 
':Snement,  and  to  a  return  to  the  cartel  in  exchanges  of  all  officers,  all 
the  complicated  questions  which  have  arisen  within  the  last  few  months 
'Can  be  promptly  disposed  of.  To  such  a  return,  in  the  name  of  hu- 
anajiity,  I  again  invite  you.     I  am  now  only  waiting  the  receipt  of 


85 

papers,  connected  with  the  Vicksburg  captures,  before  going  to  City 
Point. 

I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WxVI.  II.  LUDLOW, 
Lieutenant  Colonel,  and  Agent  of  Exchange  of  Prisoners. 


[No.  24.] 
MR.  OULD  TO  LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW. 

Confederate  States  of  Americv,  War  Departmet,      ) 
Ridimond,  Va.,  July  26th,  1SG3.  ) 

Col.  Wm.  II.  Luulow, 

Agent  of  Exchange  : 

SxR :  Your  coraOiUnication  of  the  22nd  contests  my  declaration  of 
exchanges  of  officers  made  on  the  17th  instant.  Y^ou  say  '*  the  cartel 
provides  for  the  exchange  of  equal  ranks,  until  such  are  exhausted, 
and  then  for  equivalents."'  If  you  had  been  at  Fortress  Monroe, 
where  you  could  have  seen  the  cartel,  instead  of  New  Y'^ork,  from 
which  your  letter  is  dated,  you  would  have  written  no  such  paragraph. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  cartel  which  contains  any  such  doctrine,  or 
which  favors  it.  Every  provision  is  against  it.  Y'^our  own  and  m^' 
practice  have  been  opposed  to  it.  I  again  say  to  you  what  I  have  al- 
ready stated  in  my  communication  of  the  1 7th  instant,  that  your  as- 
'^ent  is  not  needed  to  the  declared  exchange,  and  I  shall  not  notify  the 
officers,  whom  I  have  declared  exchanged,  as  you  request.  I  have  al- 
lowed you  to  declare  exchanges  when  the  number  of  prisoners  in 
our  hands  has  been  the  greater.  This  has  been  the  case  from  the  day 
when  we  first  met  in  the  fall  of  last  year,  to  the  capture  at  Vicksburg. 
Now,  when  you  have  scarcely  received  official  advices  of  your  supe- 
riority in  prisoners,  you  boast  of  the  fact,  and  declare  that  1  cannot 
give  an  e<iuivalent  for  the  general  officers  I  have  declared  exchanged, 
rhe  point  you  make  is  worth  nothing,  even  as  you  have  stated  it. 
You  know  we  havd  no  Lieutenant  Generals  or  Major  Generals  of  yours 
in  our  hands.  For  that  reason  I  have  declared  them  exchanged  in 
privates  or  inferior  officers  at  your  election.  I  had  the  right,  under 
the  cartel,  to  make  the  choice  myself,  but  I  preferred  that  you  should 
do  it,  and,  therefore,  I  gave  you  the  notification  which  I  diil.  If,  at 
any  time,  you  present  officers  for  exchange  who  have  been  paroled, 
and  wc  have  no  officers  of  similar  rank  on  parole,  you  can  declare 
their  exchange  in  privates.  If,  it  at  this  tim*,  you  have  any  officers 
of  the  rank  I  have  declared  exchanged,  or  of  any  other  fank,  or  if 
you  have  any  particular  organization  of  privates  or  non-commissioned 
officers  whom  you  wish  exchanged,  you  have  only  to  state  such  fact 
and  your  selection  will  be  approved.  If  you  hold  the  paroles  of  our 
officers  of  any  rank   as  you  state,  you  Jiave  only  to  present  them, 


86 

and  whatever  is  in  our  hands,  whether  on  parole  or  in  captivity,  will 
be  freely  given  in  exchange  fur  them.  You  say  you  have  again  and 
again  invited  me  to  a  return  to  the  cartel.  Now  that  our  oflficial  con- 
nection is  being  termi.iated,  I  say  to  you  in  the  fear  of  God — and  I 
appeal  to  Him  for  the  truth  of  the  declaration — that  there  has  been 
no  single  moment,  from  the  time  when  we  were  first  brought  together 
in  conuectoin  with  the  matter  of  exchange  to  the  present  hour,  during 
which  there  has  not  been  an  open  and  notorious  violation  of  the  car- 
tel, by  your  authorities  Office  s  and  men,  numbering  over  hundreds, 
have  been,  during  your  whole  connection  with  the  cartel,  kept  in  cruel 
confijieinent,  sometimes  in  irons,  or  doomed  to  cells,  without  charges 
or  trial.  They  are  in  prison  now,  unless  God,  in  His  mercy,  has 
released  them.  In  our  parting  moments,  let  me  do  you  the  justice 
to  say  that  I  do  not  believe  it  is  so  much  your  fault  as  that  of  your 
authorities.  Nay  more,  I  believe  your  removal  from  your  position 
has  been  ov/ing  to  the  personal  efforts  you  have  made  for  a  faithful 
observance,  not  only  of  the  cartel,  but  of  humanity  in  the  conduct  of 
the  war. 

Again  and  again  have  I  importuned  you  to  tell  me  if  one  officer  or 
man  now  held  in  confinement  by  us,  who  was  declared  exchanged. 
You  have,  to  those  appeals,  furnished  one,  Spencer  Kellog.  For  him 
I  have  searched  in  vain.  On  the  other  hand,  I  appeal  to  your  own 
records  for  the  case'?  where  your  reports  have  shown  that  our  officers 
and  men  have  been  held  fpr  long  months  and  even  years  in  violation 
of  the  cartel  and  our  agreements.  The  last  phase  of  the  enormity, 
howevc",  exceeds  all  others.  Although  you  have  many  thousands  of 
our  soldiers  now  in  confinement  in  your  prisoners,  and  especially  in 
that  horrible  hold  of  death,  Fort  Deleware,  you  have  not,  for  several 
weeks,  sent  us  any  prisoners.  During  those  weeks  jou  have  dis- 
patched Captain  Mulford  with  the  steamer  New  York  to  City  Point, 
three  or  four  times  without  any  prisoners.  For  the  first  two  or  three 
times  some  sort  c»f  an  excuse  was  attempted.  None  is  given  at  thia 
present  arrival.  I  do  not  mean  to  be  offensive  when  I  say  that  ef- 
frontery could  not  give  one.  I  ask  you  with  no  purpose  of  disrespect, 
what  can  you  think  of  this  covert  attempt  to  secure  the  delivery  of 
all  your  prisoners  in  our  hands,  without  the  release  of  those  of  ours 
who  are  languishing  in  hopeless  misery  in  your  prisons  and  dun- 
geons ? 

Respectfully, 

Your  obd't  serv't, 

ROB'T.  OULD, 
Age7it  of  Exchange. 


87 

[No;  25.] 

* 

EXCHANGE  NOTICE,  No    6. 

KicHMOMD,  September  12,  1863. 

The  following  confederate  officers  and  men,  captured  at  Vicksburg, 
Miss.,  July  4,  1863,  anti   subsequently   paroled   liave  been   duly  ex 
changed,  and  are  hereby  so  declared : 

1.  The  officers  and  men  of  Gen.  C.  L.  Stevenson's  division. 

2.  The  officers  and  men  of  Gen.  Bowen's  division. 

3.  The  officers  and  men  of  Brig.  Gen.  Moore's  brigade. 

4.  The  officers  and  men  of  the  2d  Te.xas  regiment. 

5.  The  officers  and  men  of  Waul's  legion. 

6.  Also,  all  confederate  officers  and  men  who  have  been  delivered  at- 
City  Point  at  any  time  previous  to  July  2oth,  1S63,  have  been  duly 
exchanged,  and  are  hereby  so  declared. 

RO.  OULD,  Agent  of  Exchange. 


[No.  26.] 

BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH  TO  MR.  OULD. 

Hd.  Qrs.  Df.pt.  of  V,\.,  Skvrnth  Army  Corps.       ) 
Fortress  Monroe,  September  24th,  ISG3.  ) 

Hon.  RoBT.  OuLD,  Agent ^  Sfc : 

?IR  :  To  meet  your  declaration  of  exchange  of  the  I2t!i  instant,  i 
inform  you  that  I  have  this  day  announced  the  following: 

"A  declaration  of  exchang;e  having  been  announced  by  R.  Ould, 
Esq.,  agent  for  exchange  at  Richmond,  Va.,  dated  September  I  2,  1863, 
to  meet  the  same  in  part,  as  equivalents^,  it  i^  hereby  declaro-.l  th:'.ta!l 
officers  and  men  of  the  United  States  army  captured  and  paroled  at 
any  time  previous  to  the  1st  Septerjiber,  18G3,  are  duly  exchanged. 

S.   A.  MKREDITH. 
Brigadier  Gcntrnl,  Co^rnissumcr  for  Exchangc.^^ 

The  number  of  officers  covered  by  the  first  five  sec- 
tions of  your  declaration  is  -  -        1,208 
The  number  of  enlisted  men  is                 -         •        -  I4,8Co 
The  number  of  j^fficers  covered  by  6th  section  is    -             72 
The  number  of  enlisted  men  is                -                  -  8,014 


Making  a  total  of  officer.-',  -  -        1,280 

And  total  of  enlisted  men,  -  .     22,879     --■ 


Aggregate,  -  '        -  -  -     24,159 

Reduced  to  enlisted  men,         -  -  -  29,43^ 

Of  the  Federal  troops  on  parole  there  are 

Officers.  -  -  -  .76 

Enlisted  men,         -  _  _  .     19,083 


Aggregate,  -  -  -  -     19,159 

Reduced  to  enlisted  men,        .  .  _  19,41)9" 

Which  gives  a  halance  in  our  favor,  of  -  -  10,024 

I  novf  claim  this  balance  ivhich  is  due  us,  and  I  demand  that  you 
return  to  their  paroles  all  officers  and  men  for  whom  you  have  paroled 
no  equivalents,  or  that  you  release  an  equal  nun:ber  from  the  prisons 
in  Richmond. 

Your  declaration  was  wholly  unwarranted  under  the  cartel,  and  it 
might  with  great  propriety  be  set  aside.  In  it  you  failed  to  announce 
to  me  the  6th  section,  as  published  in  the  Richmond  Enquirer  of  the 
10th  instant,  which  covers  72  officers  and  8,' '14  enlisted  men.  You 
did  not,  according  to  the  terms  of  Yhe  cartel,  furnish  me  with  any 
"list,"  or  even  give  me  the  number  of  men,  by  which  I  could  declare 
equivalents,  nor  did  you  give  me  any  time  to  prepare  my  announce- 
ment. I  here  deem  it  incumbent  upon  me  to  state  that  I  consider 
your  course  in  this  matter  a  deliberate  breach  of  good  faith  on  the 
part  of  the  authorities  under  whom  you  act.  The  5th  article  of  the 
cartel  (General  Orders,  No.  142,  I8ti2,)  would  have  authorized  you  to 
discharge  prisoners  of  the  Fedoral  forces,  furnishing  a  "list'  of  them, 
and  then  you  could  have  diirchargcd  an  equal  numlier  of  your  own 
officers  and  men  "from  parole."  The  cartel  not  only  contemplates  a 
"mutual"  exchange  of  "lists"  (article  5),  but  e.xpret^sly  declares  (ar- 
ticle 4)  that  no  exchange  is  to  be  considered  complete  until  the  officer 
or  soldier  exchanged  for*has  been  actually  restored  to  the  lines  to 
which  he  belongs.  *" 

As  to  the  paioles  given  at  Gettysburg  and  elsewhere,  you  made  an 
agreement  with  my  pr.edecessor,  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow,  to  take  effect  from 
May  22d,  1863,  that  all  paroles  given  not  in  accordance  with  the 
cartel,  should  be  considered  null  and  void.  IIow,  then,  can  you  claim 
as  valid  the  Gettysburg  paroles  ? 

If  you  have  any  toUs  or  lists  of  any  men  whom  you  have  paroled 
that  1  have  not  given  you  credit  ior,  or  if  there  shouM  be  any  errors 
in  my  account,  I  will  be  happy  to  rectify  the  same. 

You  declared  exchanged,  before  my  predecessor  was  relieved,  cer- 
tain officers  captured  at  Vicksburg,  in  which  declaration  he  refused  to 
unite.  There  are  but  two  officers,  I  believe  (Generals  btevenson  and 
Bowen),  who  are  covered  by  your  declaration  of  the  42th  instant.  If 
the  other  officers  named  have  not  been  returned  to  their  paroles,  as 
requested  by  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow,  you  are  indebted  to  us  for  their 
equivalents.  The  chief  ground  of  the  objection  to  that  declaration  , 
that  at  that  time  there  were  no  equivalents  of  the  same  grade  in  our 


89 

possession  (the  only  condition  which  w  )uld  have  warranted  yaur 
making  the  dechvration) ;  and  if  we  consented  to  it  we  would  be  obliged 
to  offset  them  by  officers  of  inferior  rank. 

In  miking  up  the  number  of  Federal  troops  to  be  exchanged,  I  have 
included  all  those  mustered  out  of  the  service,  all  discharged,  deserted 
and  deceased. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 

S.  A.  MEREDITH. 
Brigadier  General  aud  Commtssioner  of  Exrhmige. 


[Xo.  27.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

Richmond.  Od.  2,  1863. 
Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredhh, 

Agent  of  Exchange  : 

Sir  :  Your  communication  of  the  24th  ultirno,  declaring  that  all 
officers  and  men  of  the  United  States  army,  captured  and  paroled  at 
any  time  previous  to  the  1st  of  September,  1863,  are  duly  exchanged, 
has  been  received. 

You  are  aware  that  when  I  met  you  on  the  24th  of  August  last,  at 
City  Point,  I  made  to  you  the  following  proposal,  to  wit :  *'  I  propose 
that  all  paroles,  on  both  sides,  heretofore  given,  shall  be  determined 
by  the  General  Orders  issued  by  the  War  Department  of  the  United 
States,  to  wit:  No.  49,  No.  100,  and  No.  207,  of  this  year,  according 
to  their  respective  dates,  and  in  conformity  with  paragraph  131  of 
General  Order  No.  KMI,  so  long  as  said  paragraph  was  in  force.  If 
this  proposition  is  not  acceptable,  I  propose  that  the  practice  hereto- 
fore adopted  respecting  paroles  and  exchanges,  be  continued.  In 
other  words,  I  propose  that  i\\fi  whole  question  of  paroles  be  deter- 
mined by  the  General  Orders  of  the  United  States,  according  to  dates, 
or  that  it  be  decided  by  former  practice."  You  have*  neither  accepted 
or  declined  either  branch  of  that  proposal,  although  I  have,  both  in 
personal  interview  and  by  letter,  solicited  you  to  do  one  or  the  other. 
On  the  same  day  you  8ubmitte<l  to  me  your  proposition,  which,  unlike 
mine,  was  prepared  before  hand,  and  which  is  as  follows:  "I  pro- 
pose, on  behalf  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  that  all  pa- 
roles given  by  officers  and  men  between  tho  23d  day  of  May.  1863, 
and  the  3d  day  of  July,  1863,  not  in  conformity  with  the  stipulations 
of  the  cartel,  shall  be  regarded  as  null  and  void.  A  declaration  to 
this  effect  to  be  published  to  both  armies"  That  proposition  I  im- 
mediately declined.  I  then  and  there  gave  you  my  reasons.  In  the 
first  place,  I  informed  you  ^hat  the  Confederate  authorities  had  never, 
at  any  time,  and  did  not  then  ask  that  paroles,  **  not  in  conformity 
with  the  stipulations  of  the  cartel,"  should  be  regarded  as  valid.  I 
'iirther  told  you   that  an  agreement  to  regard  "as  null  and  void"  pa- 


90 

roles  between  certain  dates,  "which  were  "  not  in  conformity  with  the 
stipulations  of  the  cartel,"  was  an  implication  that  paroles  liable  to 
the  same  objection  before  the  first  named  date  and  after  the  last,  should 
be  regarded  as  valid,  and  was,  therefore,  necessarily  vicious  on  its  very 
face.  I  also  told  you  that  another  reason  for  declining  your  proposi- 
tion, v/as  the  one  which  caused  you  to  make  it,  to  wit :  that  the  iniroles 
which  had  been  given  to  us  were  between  the  dates  embraced  in  your 
proposition,  while  those  given  to  you  were  before  and  after.  When  I 
made  the  objection  to  your  proposal,  that  it  intimated  that  paroles 
**  not  in  conformity  with  the  stipulations  of  the  carteP'-before  the  2ad 
of  May,  and  after  the  3d  of  July,  of  this  year,  were  to  be  regarded  as 
valid,  1  asked  you  to  state,  in  writing,  that  no  such  intimation  was  con- 
veyed. This  you  declined  to  do,  saj  ing,  somewhat  brusquely,  that  you 
did  not  wish  to  have  any  discussion  about  the  matter.  Upon  my  press- 
ing the  subject,  however,  you  put  a  memorandum  at  the  foot  of  the 
proposition,  saying  that  the  proposal  was  in  reply  to  my  letter  of 
Angudt  5,  ii3u3,  and  in  lieu  of  the  proposition  therein  made  by  rae. 
Tou  Nvould  not,  did  not  disclaim  the  implication  which  your  proposi- 
tion contained,  nor  have  you  done  so  since.  My  letter  of  the  5th  of 
Augu:^t  only  demanded,  in  compliance  with  your  own  General  Order. 
No.  100,  that  if  you  rejected  the  paroles,  the  parties  should  bo  deliv- 
ered to  us. 

You  informed  me  that  you  would  transmit  my  proposition  to  Wash- 
ington, and  give  me  a  speedy  answer  in  person  or  by  letter. 

On  the  7th  of  September  I  complained  that  no  reply  had  be^n  re 
turned,  although  two  weeks  had  elapsed,  and  two  boats  had  been  dis- 
patched to  City  Point  since  the  date  of  our  interview.  At  the  same 
time  I  informed  you  that  the  Conl'ederate  authorities  would  consider 
themselves  entirely  at  liberty  to  pursue  any  course  with  reference  to 
my  proposition  which  they  might  deem  right  and  proper  under  all  the 
circumstances  of  the  case. 

Accordingly,  on  the  1  1th  of  September,  in  pursuance  of  this  plain 
intimation,  I  notified  you  that  on  the  following  day  (that  being  the 
time  when  the  notice  would  reach  yoi;^  I  would  declare  exchanged  a 
portion  of  the  Vicksburg  captures.  1  gave  you  the  divisions,  brig- 
ades, regiments  and  batteries.  I  also  inl'orracd  you  that  I  had  in  my 
possession  more  valid  paroles  of  your  officers  and  men  than  would  be 
an  equivalent  for  the  exchange  I  then  declared;  that,  in  addition,  I 
had  delivered  at  City  Point  some  ten  or  twelve  thousand  men  since  the 
last  declaration  of  exchange ;  .that,  as  it  had  been  the  practice,  how- 
ever, of  the  agents  of  exchange,  whenever  one  of  them  declared  a  spe- 
cial exchange,  to  aUow  the  other  to  select  the  equivalents,  I  gave 
you  that  privilege,  and  if  you  did  not  avail  yourself  of  it,  I  would 
name  the  Federal  officers  and  men  who  were  discharged  from  their 
parole  by  reason  of  the  declaration  of  exchange  then  made.  This 
notification  to  you  was  not  only  in  accordance  with  former  practice, 
but  was  sanctioned  if  not  demanded  by  th§  fifth  article  of  the  cartel, 
which,  after  providing  for  the  manner  in  which  "  each  party"  may 
discharge  "their"  officers  and  men  from  parole,  says,  "  thus  enabling 
each  party  to  relieve  from  parole  such  of  thdr  own  officers  and  men  as 


91 

the  party  may  choose."  I  have  said  this  course  was  in  accorilinop 
with  former  practice,  and  for  proof,  refer  you  to  the  letters  of  ].ieut. 
Col.  Ludlow,  former  agent  of  exchange,  of  the  following  dates  of  this 
year,  to  wit:  April  6th,  8th,  13th,  19th  and  27th;  May  12th,  2Gih 
and  3(lih  ;  J-.ine  oth,  9th  and  13th,  wherein  he  declared  the  exchange 
of  Federal  officers  and  men. 

In  one  of  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow's  communications  of  Mjiy  30,  1863. 
he  .says  :  "  I  have  declared  e.xchiinged  the  Holly  Springs  capture,  the 
91st  regiment  Illinois  volunteers,  captured  at  Elizabethtown,  Ky., 
December  27,  1862,  and  the  captures  at  Mt.  Sterling,  on  the  22d  and 
23d  of  March,  18G3;  also,  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Indianola.  The 
exact  numbers  I  have  not  on  hand,  but  they  foot  up  some  hundreds 
less  than  thebulnnce  due.  I  will  furnish  you  with  the  e.\i\ct  numbers 
as  soon  as  received."  The  same  boat  that  conveyed  that  communication 
brought  an('ther  written  subsequently,  but  dated  the  same  day,  as  fol- 
lows: *'  I  have  declared  exchanged  the  51st  regiment  Indiana  volun- 
teers, 73d  regiment  Indiana  volunteers,  and  3d  regiment  Ohio' volun- 
teers. These  number  each  less  than  three  hundred  men,  and  cmpose 
a  part  of  Streight's  brigade.  I  will  add  to  the  above  declaration  the 
8'Hh  Illinois  volunteers,  and  fifty-eight  members  of  the  1st  Ten- 
nessee cavalry." 

The  enlisted  men  alone,  designated  in  either  one  o^  the  communica- 
tions, exceeded  the  "balance"  due  to  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow.  The  excess 
in  both  communication  was  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety, 
without  taking  into  account  "  the  captures  at  Mt.  Sterling  on  the  22d 
and  23d  of  March,  1863." 

You  will  observe  that  Lieut  Col.  Ludlow,  in  these  two  communica- 
tions, "did  not  furnish  me  with  any  list,  or  even  give  me  the  number 
of  men,  by  which  I  could  declare  e(iuivalents  ;  nor  did  he  give  me  any 
time  to  prepare  my  announeement."  I  quote  from  your  letter  of  the 
24th  of  September  to  me. 

Not  only  was  that  the  case,  hut  he  made  a  wholesale  exchange  of 
the  Mt.  Sterling  captures,  by  a  simple  reference  to  it  as  being  male 
''  on  the  22d  and  23d  day  of  March,  1863,'  without  any  designation  of 
corps,  division,  brigade,  regin)ent  or  company.  Further  tli:in  that,  I 
have  never,  to  this-  day,  been  furnished  with  a  list  of  those  captured 
at  Mt.  Sterling,  or  even  with  the  aggregate  number. 

Such;  then,  were  the  circumstances,  and  such  the  precedents,  under 
whieli  I  declared  the  exchanges  of  September  12,  1863.  1  have  pur- 
posely gone  into  minute  and  faithful  detHil  in  consequence  of  the  ex- 
traordiniiry  character  of  3'our  letter  of  the  2-Hh  of  September.  Yon 
state  that  you  consider  my  curse  to  be  a  deliberate  breach  of  good 
faith  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  under  whom  I  act.  In  a  bungling 
sort  of  way  you  have  used  language  which  casts  an  cflfensive  aspersion 
both  upon  myself  and  the  Government  I  represent.  If  there  had  not 
been  subjects  of  very  grave  import  to  both  people  referred  to  in  other 
portioi.s  of  your  communication,  I  would  have  treated  it  with  the  silent 
contempt  it  deserved,  and  returned  it  to  you  without  comment.  l<or 
the  fir?t  time  in  the  correspondence  of  the  agents  of  exchange  has  any 
such  discourtesy  occurred.     I  regret  it  very  much.     Heretofore   I 


92 

have  had  occasion  to  complain  of  the  action  of  your  Government,  but 
it  has  always  been  done  with  decoruiii.  I  have  never  written  a  word 
personally  offensive  to  the  Federal  agent  of  exchange,  or  insulted  his 
Government  with  a  charge  of  '•  deliberate  breach  of  good  faith."  It  is 
a  matter  of  very  little  moment  to  me  what  may  be  your  opinion  of 
"  my  course."  There  are  some  people  connected  with  this  war  who, 
either  from  ignorance  or  passion,  seem  to  have  no  clear  ideas  on  any 
subject.  The  opinion  of  such,  even  if  uttered  in  the  language  of 
courtesy,  is  but  of  little  avail,  but,  if  expressed  with  intemperance, 
only  "  exalts  their  folly."  There  has  been  no  breach  of  faith  on  the 
part  of  the  Confederate  States,  "deliberate"  or  otherwise.  You  were 
importuned  to  agree  to  some  fair  principle  by  which  paroles  could  be 
adjusted  and  computed.  After  patient  waiting — after  failure  on  your 
part  to  respond  affirmatively  or  negatively — the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment, through  its  agent  of  exchange,  did  what  was  demanded  by 
courtesy,  and  justified  both  by  former  practice  and  the  provisions  of 
the  cartel. 

I  now  proceed  to  notice  the  misstatements  of  your  letter.  I  will 
not  call  them  "  deliberate,"  although  you  had  the  means  of  correcting 
them  at  your  hand;  for  such  phraseology,  so  open  to  the  imputation 
of  discourtesy  and  coarseoess,  finds  m  such  communications  as  the 
present  only  the  precedent  of  your  example. 

1.  Your  computation  of  paroles  is  incorrect  on  both  sides.  As  to 
your  item  of  1,208  officers  and  14,865  men,  embraced  by  the  first  five 
sections  of  my  exchange  notice,  I  have  no  exception  to  make.  Some 
of  our  Vicksburg  rolls  were  lost,  and  I  have  not  the  means  of  making 
an  accurate  computation  as  to  them. 

Your  second  item,  however,  of  72  officers  and  8,014  men,  embracing 
the  sixth  section  of  my  exchange  notice,  is  incorrect.  In  the  first 
place,  all  the  officers  on  both  sides,  who  have  been  delivered  at  City 
Point,  are  exchanged.  They  were  specially  exchanged.  -Major  Mul- 
ford  knows  that  fact.  All  Confederate  soldiers  who  were  delivered  at 
City  Point  up  to  May  23,  1863,  including  said  date,  v/erc  declared 
exchanged  by  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow,  while  the  Federal  troops  were  only 
exchanged  up  to  May  6,  1863.  The  number  of  Confederate  soldiers, 
reduced  to  privates,  delivered  at  City  Point  from  May  23  to  July  25, 
(the  date  named  in  ray  notice,)  is  5,831,  instead  of  8,0(4.  The  rolls 
show  this  very  clearly.  Of  the  Federal  troops  on  parole,  you  say  there 
are  76  officers  and  19,083  men.  If  these  officers  are  those  delivered 
at  City  Point,  you  make  an  error  against  yourself.  They  have  been 
exchanged.  From  the  6th  of  May,  1863,  (the  time  of  the- last  ex- 
change of  Federal  troops,)  to  the  1st  of  September,  1863,  (the  time 
named  in  your  notice,)  I  have  delivered  at  City  Point  alone,  in  pri- 
vates, 18,610.  All  of  these  are  on  parole.  I  have  other  valid  paroles 
in  my  possession,  amounting  to  at  least  16,000  more.  Allowing, 
therefore,  that  your  Vicksburg  computation  is  correct,  you  owe  me, 
upon  the  last  notice  which  jou  have  published,  more  than  7,000,  in- 
stead of  my  owing  you  10,024,  as  you  claim.  Many  of  the  16,000 
paroles  to  which  I  have  referred,  have  been  acknowledged  by  Lieut. 


Col.  Ludlow  in  his  correspondence.  So  much  as  to  yonr  computation, 
and  your  exchange  notice  based  upon  it. 

2.  You  say  I  failed  to  announce  to  you  '"the  sixth  section  of  my 
exchange  notice,  as  published  in  the  Richmond  Enquirer  of  the  10th 
instant,  which  covers  72  officers  and  8.014  enlisted  men."  This  is 
not  so.  On  the  1st  of  August  last  I  informed  you  in  wri4;ing  that] 
had  declared  exchanged  all  Confederate  soldiers  who  had  been  deliv- 
ered iit  City  Point  up  to  July  20,  I8G3.  No  deliveries  were  made  at 
Cijy  Point  between  July  20  and  July  2"),  and  therefore  one  announce- 
ment was  the  same  as  the  other.  I  did  not  inform  you  of  the  exchange 
of  the  City  Point  men  in  my  letter  of  the  1  Ith  September,  because  I 
had  already  notified  you  on  the  1st  of  August. 

o.  Yiiu  pay  I  did  not  furnish  you  with  any  list,  or  even  give  the 
number  of  men,  by  which  you  could  dvchuc  equivalents,  nor  did  I 
give  you  any  time  to,  prepare  your  announcement.  You  were  fur- 
nished with  the  lists  of  all  paroled  men  delivered  at  City  Point,  num- 
bering up  to  September  1,  18,G10  men.  As  to  other  paroles  held  by 
me,  you  failed  to  accept  or  decline  the  terms  upon  which  they  were  to 
be  computed  and  adjusted,  and  therefore  it  was  useless  to  send  them. 
Yoii  had,  or  ought  to  have  had,  duplicates  of  many  of  them  in  your 
possession.  If  there  was  any  particular  capture  on  parole,  or  any 
special  class  of  paroled  men  whom  you  wished  to  declare  exchanged, 
you  had  only  to  announce  that  fact,  and  the  lists  would  be  furnished 
if  I  had  them  and  you  had  not.  With  what  propriety  could  I  send 
you  lists  'vbich  I  believed  to  ])e  in  accordance  with  the  cartel,  but 
which  you  intimated  you  would  decline  to  acknowledge  ?  Moreover, 
accoruiiig  to  my  interpretation  of  the  cartel,  that  instrument  very 
clearly  gives  the  right  to  you  to  select  what  Federal  officers  and  men 
shall  be  relieved  from  their  parole,  whenever  I  discharge  our  officers 
and  mv,n  from  their  parole.  I  claim  the  same  right  when  you  declare 
an  exchange  of  your  paroled  men.  If  I  had  sent  you  lists  of  such  of 
your  officers  and  men  as  were  relieved  from  their  j)arole  by  my  declar- 
ation of  exchange,  I  would,  in  effect,  have  violated  that  provision  of 
the  cartel  which  gives  the  right  to  "  each  party  to  relieve  from  parole 
such  of  their  own  officers  and  men  as  the  party  may  choose."  It  was 
entirely  unnecessary  for  meto  give  you  the  number  of  men  whom  my 
notice  declared  exchanged.  They  were  all  Vicksburg  captures  or 
City  Point  deliveries.  You  had  the  rolls  of  boili.  You  had  in  your 
possession  as  much  information  as  1  could  communicate,  even  if  I  had 
held  the  Vicksburg  rolls,  which  I  did  not,  I  have  already  proved  to 
you  by  the  record  that  the  former  Federal  agent,  when  he  declared  ex- 
changes, gave  neither  lists  nor  the  number  of  men.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  more  recent  case.  You  yourself  have  just  declared  a  sweeping 
exchange.  You  have  not  fuinished  me  with  any  Hats  or  designation 
of  corps,  division,  brigade,  regiment,  or  company,  notwithstanding 
the  clamor  you  have  raised  about  my  omission  in  those  particulars. 
Your  objection  as  to  want  of  time  for  the  preparation  of  your  an- 
nouncement, is  a  small  one  at  best.  The  cartel  does  not  make  it 
incumbent  upon  me  to  give  you  time.  Your  j)redece8Sor  did  not  give 
ic  to  me.     The  correspondence,  however,  between  us,  before  the  12th 


04 

of  September,  was  of  such  a  nature  as  must  have  prevented  a  sur- 
prise. 

4.  I  •iiti  not  make  any  such  agreement  with  your  predecessor,  Lieut. 
Col.  Ludlow,  as  you  state,  nor  did  I  ever  make  any  agreement  with 
any  one,  by  which  I  renounced  the  right  to  cUim  the  paroh\s  given 
at  Gettysburg.  The  first  official  letter  which  I  ever  addressed  to  you 
was  in  relation  to  this  very  subject.  It  bears  date  August  1,  1363, 
and  is  as  follows  : 

•'  Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

"  Agent  of  Exchange  : 

"Sir  :  In  the  Army  and  Navy  Official  Gazette  of  the  date  of  July 
14th,  1863,  I  find  a  letter  from  Lieut.  Col.  Wm.  H.  Ludlow,  of  the 
date  of  July  7th,  1863,  addressed  to  Col.  J.  C.  Kelton.  In  it  is  the 
following  paragraph,  to  wit : 

"  '  I  have  the  honor  also  to  state  that  since  the  22d  of  May  last,  it 
has  been  distinctly  understood  between  Mr.  Ould  and  myself,  that  all 
•japtures  must  be  reduced  to  possession,  and  that  all  paroles  are  to  be 
disregarded  unless  taken  under  the  special  arrangement  of  command- 
ing officers  of  armies  in  the  field,  as  prescribed  in  section  seven  of 
the  cartel.' 

*'  If  Lieut  Col.Jiudlow  means  that  he  had  declared  to  me  that  such 
was  the  rule  which  had  been  adopted  by  the  United  States  in  relation  to 
captures  and  paroles,  to  go  into  effect  from  and  after  May  '3f]d,  1863, 
he  is  entirely  right.  If  he  means  that  I  at  any  time  consented  to 
adopt  or  acquiesce  in  any  such  rule,  he  is  entirely  wrong.  All  that 
passed  between  us  on  that  subject  is  in  writing.  The  correspondence 
will  interpret  itself, 

"  Respectfully,  your  ob't.  serv't,, 

"  Rob't.  Ould, 
'*  Agent  of  Exchange.^^ 

The  [general  order,  No.  1!)0,  issued  at  Washington,  which  Lieut. 
Col.  Ludlo?v  communicated  to  me  on  the  23d  May,  1863,  in  its  lolst 
paragraph  provides,  that  "  if  the  Government  does  not  approve  of  the 
parole,  the  paroled  officer  must  return  into  captivity  ;  and  should  the 
enemy  refuse  to  receive  him,  he  is  free  of  his  parole."  In  no  com- 
munication, in  no  interview  with  either  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow  or  your- 
self, where  the  subject  was  under  consideration,  did  I  over  fail  to  de- 
mand that,  if  your*  Government  rejected  the  paroles,  the  parties  should 
return  into  captivity.  I  had  the  warrant  of  your  own  general  order 
for  that  demand,  but  pleaded  it  in  vain.  So  far  from  carrying  out  its 
own  general  order,  your  Government,  on  the  3I)th  June  last,  while 
the  order  was  in  force,  and  before  the  publication  ^of  general  order, 
No.  207,  convened  a  court  of  enquiry,  and  required  the  court  to  give 
its  opinion  on  the  following  point,  to  wit:  whether  Major  Duane  and 
Captain  Michler,  captured  and  paroled  on  the  38th  June,  1863,  should 
be  placed  on  duty  without  exchange,  or  be  required  to  return  to  the 
enemy  as  prisoners  of  war.  The  general  order  required  the  latt-er, 
but  the  court  found  that  the  Government  was  free  to  place  those  offi- 


95 

cera  on  duty  without  exchange.  The  reason  given  by  the  court  waa, 
not  that  the  Federal  agent  and  myself  had  agreed  to  regard  such  pa- 
roles as  invalid,  but  that  I  had  been  noHftd  they  would  not  be  recog- 
nized. It  is  true  that  I  was  informed  that  certain  paroles  would  not 
be  considered  as  valid,  but  1  was  alsonotifie'l  at  the  same  time,  by  the 
same  hand,  and  through  the  same  instrument,  that  the  *♦  paroled 
officer"  must  return  into  captivity  if  his  parole  was  not  approved. 
In  other  words,  on  that  day  (May  23d,  1863,)  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow, 
with  little  or  no  comment,  delivered  to  me  general  order,  No.  11)0, 
as  the  rules  adopted  for  the  government  of  the  Federal  array.  I  never 
had  any  intimation  that  all  the  provisions  of  general  order".  No.  100, 
did  not  continue  in  force,  until  I  received,  on  the  8th  of  July,  1863, 
the  following  letter  from  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow  : 

"  Fort  Monroe, -July  7th,  1863. 

"  Sir  :  I  herewith  enclose  to  yon  a  copy  of  general  order,  No.  207, 
which  contains  some  additional  provisions  to  those  mentioned  in  my 
communication  to  you  of  the  22d  May  last.  It  is  understood  tliat 
officers  of  the  United  States  and  Confederate  officers  have,  at  various 
times  and  places,  paroled  and  released  prisoners  of  war,  not  in  accor- 
dance with  the  cartel. 

'*  The  Government  of  the  United  States  will  not  recognize,  and  will  not 
expect  the  Confederate  uthorities  to  recognize  such  unauthorized  pa- 
roles. Prisoners  released  on  parole  not  authorized  by  the  cartel,  after 
my  notice  to  you  of  the  23d  May,  will  not  be  regarded  as  prisoners 
'f  war,  and  will  not  be  exchanged. 

"  "Where  prisoners  of  war  have  been  released  without  the  delivery 

specified  in  the  cartel,  since  the  22d  of  May  last,  such  release  will  bo 

regarded  as  unconditional,  and  the  prisoners  released  as   subject  to 

orders  without  exchange,  the  same  as  if  they  had  never  been  captured. 

"  I  am,  very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

**  Wm.  H.  Ludlow. 
"  Lieut.  Col.  and  Agent  for  Exchange  of  Pri>onrrs. 

•'Hon.  Rob't.  Ouf.d,  ^gent,  ^c." 

The**  notice"  referred  to  in  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow's  letter  was  the 
delivery  of  general  order,  No.  100,  with  its  ISlst  paragraph.  That 
paragraph  was  set  aside  by  the  provisions  of  general  order,  No.  207, 
which  bears  date  July  3,  1863,  three  days  nfttr  the  submission  of  the 
question  of  the  paroles  of  Duane  and  Michler  to  the  court  of*  inquiry, 
two  days  after  its  finding,  and  several  days  afttr  our  captures  in  the 
Gettysburg  campaign.  On  the  Tth  of  July,  1863,  Lieut.  Col.  Lud- 
low substantially  informs  me  that  although  he  notified  me  on  the  22d 
of  May,  that  paragraph  131  of  general  order,  No.  100,  was  to  be 
continued  in  force ;  yet,  under  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  in 
view  of  what  had  taken  place  in  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  said 
paragraph  was  not  to  be  considered  as  being  in  force  at  any  time  after 
the  22d  of  May,  and  general  order,  No.  207,  although  it  was  issued 
July  S,  1863,  should  bo  construed  as  bearing  date  the  22d  of  May, 
preceding  ! 


9€ 

It  will  be  observ-ed  that  Lieut.  Col..  Ludlow,  in  liis  letter  to  me  of 
the  7th  of  July,  no  where  says  I  had  made  any  agreement  with  him, 
and  yet  it  bears  the  same  date  as  his  letter  to  Col.  Kelton.  It  is  ap- 
parent on  the  face  of  the  paper  that  he  is  conveying  to  me  certain 
information  for  the  first  time,  and  that  this  inform;vtion  is  the  *'  addi- 
tional provisions"  of  general  order,  No.  2!)7,  one  of  which  set  aside 
paragraph  131  of  general  order,  No.  100.  The  court  of  enquiry,  in 
its  finding,  (see  Army  and  Navy  Official  Gazette,  July  14,  1863,) 
says  I  was  •'  notified,''  ^x.  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow,  in  his  letter  to  Col. 
Kelton,  says  it  was  distinctly  ^'  understood'''  hetyveen  Mr  Ould  and 
himself,  &o.  You,  in  your  letter  of  the  24th  of  September,  say  I 
made  an  "  a^/-eemc7i<  "  with  your  predecessor.  The  notification  first 
rises  to  an  understanding,  and  is  then  elevated  into  an  agreement. 
What  further  promotion  it  will  receive  remains  to  be  seen. 

You  have  charged  a  deliberate  broach  of  good  faith  upon  the  part 
-of  the  Confederate  States.  Let  me  bring  to  your  attention  an  inci- 
<lent  connected  with  this  matter  of  release  from  paroles.  On  March 
9,  1863,  General  Schenck,  of  immortal  memory,  issued  a  general 
order,  No.' 15,  requiring  all  officers  and  men  who  had  been  captured 
and  paroled  in  his  department,  and  particularly  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  but  who  had  not  been  exchanged,  to  return  to  duty  on  penalty 
of  being  considered  deserters.  Your  general  order  in  force  at  that 
time — No.  49,  February  28,  1863 — in  section  8,  provided  that  if  the. 
engagement  which  a  prisoner  made  was  not  approved  by  his  Govern- 
ment, he  was  bound  to  return  and  surrender  himself  as  a  prisoner  of 
war.  The  same  general  oi^der.  No,  49,  in  the  same  section  8,  uses  these 
memorable  words,  AvhichI  now  set  up  against  your  present  extraordinary 
claims,  to  wit :  "  His  own  Government  cannot,  at  the  same  time,  dis- 
own his  engagement  and  refuse  his  return  as  a  prisoner."  In  spite 
of  those  honest  words.  General  Schenck  issued  his  order,  which  to  this 
day  has  not  been  countermanded,  in  effect  directing  not  only  that  such 
as  were  captured  and  paroled  after  March  9th,  1863,  should 
return  to  duty,  but  aleo  all  who  had  been  captured  and  paroled, 
under  the  circumstances  named,  since  the  beginning  of  hosilities, 
on  penalty  of  being  considered  deserters.  At  that  very  time 
and  afterwards,  even  to  as  late  as  Stoneman'^  raid,  the  former  agent 
of  exchange  was  charging  against  me,  and  receiving  credit  for  captures 
and  paroles  simlar  to  those  repudiated  by  Schenck's  oWer.  It  is  due  to 
Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow  that  I  should  say  that,  when  thematter  was  brought 
to  his  attention,  he  declared  that  Schenck's  action  was  without  proper 
authority,  and  that  I  would  have  credit  for  such  as  reported  for  duty 
under  the  order.  Still  the  order  was  not  countermanded,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  has  been  followed  and  sustained  by  general  order.  No,  207. 
I  have  received  no  returns  of  such  as  have  reported  under  Schenck's 
order,  and  never  will. 

In  your  letter  of  the  24th  of  September,  and  others,  you  refer,  in 
connection  with  our  Gettysburg  captures,  to  *'  paroles  not  in  accor- 
•dance  with  the  cartel."  The  phrase  figures  not  only  in  your  correa^ 
pondence,  but  in.  the  findings  of  your  courts  and  in  some  of  your 


97 

general  orders,  l^et  me  here,  in  the  nt)st  fcnnal  manner,  assure  yo.i 
that  the  Confederate  Government  considers  the  cartel  to  he  biiuiin;^ 
and  imperative  to  the  j*ijllest  extent  of  ony  and  all  of  it?  provisional. 
I  h.'ive  never  asked  you  to  respect  a  parole  which  is  inconsistent  with 
that  instrument.  You  say  the  Gettyshnr;::;  paroles  are  in  contraven- 
tion of  the  cartel.  Let  me  give  you  some  of  them — .ill,  or  nearly  :»U, 
of  them  belong  to  one  or  the  other  class  : 

"  I,  the  subscriber,  a  prisoner  of  war,  captured  near  Gettysburg, 
Pa.,  do  give  my  parole  of  honor  not  to  take  up  arms  against  the  Con- 
federate States,  or  to  do  any  military  duty  whatever,  or  to  give  any 
information  that  may  be  prejudicial  to  the  intercept  of  the  same,  until 
regularly  ex-hanged.  In  the  event  this  parole  ia  not  recogui/.oil  by 
tKc  Federal  suuhorities,  I  give  my  pi  role  of  honor  to  report  to  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  .'s  a  prisoner  of  war  within  thirty  da^'s. 

"  John  E.  Parsons, 
**  ]st  Lieut,  and  Adft.  149//*  Pa.  VoW 

"  T,  the  subscriber,  a  prisoner  of  war,  captured  near  Gettysburg, 
Pa.,  do  give  my  pirole  of  honor  not  to  take  up  arms  against  the  Oon- 
•fedsrate  States,  or  to  do  any  military  duty  whatever,  or  to  give  any 
information  that  mr^}''  bo  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  same,  until 
regularly  e.xchangeJ.  This  parole  is  unconditional,  and  extended  *.> 
a  wounded  olhcer  for  the  sake  of  humanity,  to  s;;vo  a  painful  and  te- 
dious iournev  to  the  rear. 

''Rov  Stonk,  Oj/.  149;A  P.   r." 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  of  the  company  and  regiment  opposite  our 
names,  do  solemnly  s\v(5ar  that  we  will  n  )t  take  up  arms  against  tho 
Confederate  States  of  America  until  regularly  exchanged  in  accor- 
dance with  cartel,  even  if  required  to  do  so  by  our  Government." 

"  The  folhiwijig  named  prisoners,  captured  near  Gettysburg,  Pa., 
are  paroled  on  the  following  conditions,  namely,  not  to  taka  up  arma 
against  the  Confederate  States,  or  to  do  any  military  duty  whatever, 
or  to  give  any  information  that  may  be  prejudicial  to  the  same,  uniil 
regularly  exchanged;  this  parole  is  uncondilionul,  and  if  not  recog- 
nized by  the  authorities  of  the  United  .States  Government,  all  pled^^e 
thcmselvcH  to  repair  to  Richmond,  as  prisoners  ot"  war,  at  the  expir.i- 
lion  of  twenty  «lays  from  this  date.'* 

Does  the  cartel  contemplate  that  these  officers  and  men  should  be 
returned  to  dtity  without  exchange  ?  It  no  where  says  so  upon  its  face. 
When  we  wore  without  any  cartel,  all  such  paroles,  and,  in  fact,  all  mili 
tary  parole><,  were  respected.  The  very  first  act  of  the  agents  of  ex- 
change was  to  adjust  mutual  accounts  as  to  the  oQicors  and  men  who  haJ 
been  captured  and  paroled  before  the  cartel  was  signed.  If  it  had  been 
intended  by  the  cartel  to  repudiate  such  ])aroles  ai  were  given  at  Get- 
tysburg, or  upon  any  battle  fiehl,  a  provision  to  that  effect,  in  dii 
tinct  terms,  would  have  been  incorporated  in  it.  That  instrument  win 
•intended  to  apply  to  "all  prisoners  of  war  held  by  either  party'* — to 
such  as  were  in  military  depots  or  prisons,  to  euch  as  had  been  \i\- 
moved   from  the  battle    field  or  place  of  capture,  aql  reduced   into 


98 

actual  possession.  It  lefc  the  force  and  effect  of  military  paroles,  and 
the  respect  -which  should  be  paid  to  them,  to  be  determined  by  the- 
usages  of  civilized  nations  of  mod.orn.  times,'  It  certainly  did  not 
purpose  to  prevent  a  wounded  officer  or  man  from  entering  into  a  stip- 
ulation not  to  take  up  arms  until  exchanged,  as  the  condition  of  his 
rckas3,  when  his  life  would.be  at  the  scjious  risk  of  forfeit  if  he  did 
not  make  the  contract.  Nor  does  it  any  where  deny  the  right  of  any 
soldier,  ■founded  or  not,  to  bind  his  Government,  by  his  military  obli- 
gation, when  he  is  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  latter  part  of 
article  seven  does  not  really  controvert  this  view.  That  clause  intended 
to  give  ''  the  commanders  of  two  opposing  armies  "  the  power  of  de- 
claring an  exchange  of  prisoners,  with  the  further  right  of  paroling 
whatever  surplus  there  might  be  after  the  exchange  was  arranged. 
Without  such  clause,  the  two  commanders  would  have  no  right  to  de- 
clare en  exchange.  It  was,  therefore,  inserted.  Until  recently,  no- 
body ever  pretended  that  the  cartel  forbid  the  giving  and  receiving  of 
oidinarv  military  paroles.  The  uniform  practice  under  the  cartel  for 
nearly  u  year  sanctioned  them.  Whatever,  however,  may  be  the  de- 
termiration  as  to  this  matter,  it  is  entirely  clear  that  at  the  time 
the  jGettysburg  paroles  were  given,  your  own  military  law  required 
That  if  the  parole  was  not  approved  the  party  should  return  to  our 
lines.  Many  of  the  paroles  indicate  on  their  face  that  the  persons 
giving  them  were  aware  of  that  fact.  I  have,  therefore,  demanded 
that  if  you  reject  these  paroles,  the  parties  who  gave  them  should  be 
returned  to  us.  The  question  between  us  is  not  so  much  whether  you 
v;i!l  regard  these  paroles  as  valid,  as  whether  you  will  comply  with  a 
:ule  of  your  own  making,  and  which  was  advertised  to  us  as  being 
the  controlling  law  of  the  case. 

I  know  not  what  you  mean  by  your  reference,  on  your  third  page, 
to  article  four,  of  the  cartel.  All  the  officers  and  men  whom  I  declared 
exchaLged,  were  "  actually  restored  to  our  lines."  All  the  officers 
and  men  whom  I  requested  you  to  select  as  equivalents  for  them  in 
the  exchange,  "  bad  been  restored  to  your  lines." 

The  parties  v.hom  I  have  declared  exchanged,  have  not  been  "  re- 
turned to  their  paroles,  as  lequested  by  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow."  I  do 
not  understand  by  what  sort  of  reading  of  the  exchange  notice  of  the 
''2th  of  September  you  make  out  that  only  "two  jofficers  (Generals 
lotevenson  and  Eowen) "  were  exchanged.  My  letters  of  July  13, 
September  1 1,  and  September  20,  will  inform  you  of  all  the  "V'icks- 
burg  prisoners,  officers  and  men,  whom  1  have  declared  exchanged. 

Your  objection  to  the  declaration  of  the.  exchange  of  the  general 
officers  paroled  at  Vicksburg,  because  there  were  no  equivalents  of  the 
[fame  grade,  is  exploded  by  the  provision  of  the  cartel  which  declares 
that  "  men  and  officers  of  lower  grades  may  be  exchanged  for  officers 
of  a  higher  grade." 

I  huve  thus  answeicd  all  the  itcn  s  of  your  letter  of  the  24th  Sept, 
]-regret  the  extreme  length  of  the  reply.  I  have,  however,  confined 
mys^elf  to  the  matter  of.  that  letter,  and  to  such  subjects  as  were  di- 
icctly  ccnnected  with  its  contents.  ]n  a  future  communication  1  will 
call  to  }our  attention  the  instances  of  the  violation  of  the  cartel  by 


99 

the  Federal  .authorities.  Notwithstanding  the  expression  of  their 
sudden  regard  for  that  instrument,  I  will  show  they  have  continued 
those  violations  from  its  date  to  the  present  moment. 

I  now  inform  you,  in  view  of  the  recent  declaration  of  exchange 
made  by  you,  coupled  with  your  failure  either  to  agree  to  or  decline 
the  proposition  made  to  you  on  the  24th  of  August  last,  in  rela- 
tion to  paroles,  that  the  Confederate  authorities  will  consider  them- 
selves entirely  at  liberty  to  pursue  any  course  as  to  exchange  or  pa- 
roles which  they  may  deem  right  and  proper  under  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case.  At  the  same  time,  I  am  directed  to  express  their 
entire  willingness  to  adopt  any  fair,  just  and  reciprocal  rule  in  rela- 
tion to  those  subjects,  without  any  delay, 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 

ROBT.  OULD, 
Agent  of   Exchange.. 


.  [No.  28.] 
BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH  TO  MR.  OULD. 

HE'.AnQU.VRTERS    Dep't    OF    Va.,    7tH    ArMV    CoRp.S,  ) 

For!  3Io7iroe,   Va.,  Sept.  14,  1863.      ) 

lion.  Robert  Olld, 

Agei}t  of  Exchange  : 

SfR  :  In  your  letter  of  Sept.  7th,  declining  to  exchange  General 
'rraham  for  General  Smith,  you  state  "that  I  appear  to  bo  lal)oriug 
under  gome  strange  mistake  ;  that  General  Smith  has  already  been 
exchanged,  and,  that  I  have  received  the  equivalent."  On  July  lith, 
18G3,  my  predecessor,  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow,  "wrote  to  you,  positively 
declining  to  unite  with  you  in  your  declaration  of  exchange  of  July 
13th,  and  requesting  you  to  notify  the  officers  therein  named,  that 
their  exchange  would  not  be  recognized  by  the  authorities  of  the 
1  nited  States.  May  I  ask,  who  was  the  "equivalent"  delivered  for 
General  Smith?  I  now  repeat  to  you  the  notificatiou  of  Lieut.  Col. 
Ludlow,  and  state  that  the  authorities  of  the  United  States  v  ill  not. 
recognize  the  exchange  of  the  above  officers  until  united  in  by  m6. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  A.  MEREDITH, 
Brig.   Gen.  and  Co-itCt  for  Exchange. 


100 

[No.  29> 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

C.  S.  A.,  W.AK   Dk.partment»  } 

Rkkmmid,  Va.,  .^ept.  14.  1863.  \ 
Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange  : 

Siu  ;  III  Your  letter  of  the  '4th  instant,  you  inquire  "Avho  was  tho 
cquivalc'it  tlelivered  for  General  Smith."  If  you  ■will  refer  to 
my  letters  of  the  13th  and  17th  of  'luly,  you  will  fimi  out  who  was 
the  cqui\;ilfiit„  It  had  been  our  practice,  whenever  "a  special 
oxchaTige  v<Mt-  declared  by  one  party,  to  allow  tho  other  to  select  tho 
equivalent  limu  prisoners  already  paroled  or  delivered.  I  pursued 
'that  court-e  in  the  case  of  the  \icksburg  general  officers.  The  equiv- 
alent couhi  l.e  found  in  officers  :Uid  men  paroled  at  Fredericksburg, 
in  pursuance  of  an  agreement  between  Generals  Lee  and  Hooker. 
If  that  was  not  satisfactory,  the  equivalent  could  easily  be  found  in 
the  ten  thoup;ind  prisoners  whom  I  had  released  from  captivity  and 
f-ent  to  City  Point.  In  that  ten  thousand  there  Avas  an  excess  of  more 
than  six  thousand,  at  least,  over  the  nunjber  you  had  delivered  at  the 
same  p'.ace  since  the  kst  general  declaration  of  exchange.  My  letter 
•of  the  I7th  ot  July  contains  a  fair  statement,  not  only  of  the  practice 
of  the  agents  of  exchange,  but  of  the  grounds  of  my  authority  to 
declare  the  exchange  of 'the  Vicksburg  general  officers,  including 
Gen.  M.  L.  Smith:  Th«  effort  to  cast  discredit  upon  the  legular  and 
honOiiible  exchange  of  these  officers,  is,  to  use  a  phrr.se  of  your  own, 
in  one  of  your  letters  of  the  14th  instant,  "tsimpiy  ridiculous." 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  OULD, 

Agerd  of-  Exchange. 


[No.  30.] 
EXCHANGE  NOTICE  No.  7, 

Richmond,  Oct.   ilSth,  1863. 

Tho  following  Confederate  officers  and  men  are  hereby  deplared 
duly  exchanged  : 

;1.  All  (/fficers  and  men  captured  and  paroled  at  ai^y  time  previous 
to  (he  first  of  Septem"ber,  1863.  This  section,  bowever,  is  not 
intended  to  include  any  officers  or  men  captured  at  Yicksburg,  July 
-ith,  1863,  except  su-ch  as  were  declared  exchan^rpd  by  exchange 
notice  No.  6,  Sept.  12th,  1863,  or  are  specifically  named  in  this 
notice.     But  it  does  embrace  all  deliveries  uiaJe   -st   City  Point  or 


101 

other  place  before  Sept.  1st,  18G;5,  and  with  the  limitation  above- 
named,  all  captures  at  Port  Hudson  or  any  other  place,  whore  tho 
parties  were  relensed  on  parole. 

2.  The  stiiflf  of  Generals  Pemberton,  Stevenson,  B  >\voa.  Moore, 
Barton,  S.  D.  Lee,  Cumtnings,  Harris,  and  Baldwin,  an  !  of  Colonels 
Reynolds,  CoL'krell,  and  Dockerey.  the  officers  and  men  "^i -I  >'p^  .ig  to 
the  enorineer  corps  and  sappers  and  miners,  and  the  fmrMi  in  I  fv)rty- 
sixtli.  Mississippi  regiments,  all  c  iptured  at  Vicksbu.-^.  Julv  4th, 
18t>3. 

3.  The  general  officers  captured  at  Vicksburg,  July  Ith,  1863, 
were  declared  exchanged  July  13th,  18(13.* 

ROBERT    OUIJ), 

Agejit  of  Exrli'inge. 


[No.  31.] 
MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GKN.  MEREDITH. 

Richmond,  Oct.  UUh,  I8G3. 
Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange  : 

Sm  :  1  herewith  enclose  to  you  a  decLiration  of  exchin2;G,  which  I 
shall  publish  in  a  day  or  two.  You  will  perceive  it  is  based  upon  tho 
declaration  of  exchange  communicati-d  to  me  in  your  lettoi-  of  tho 
24th  of  September  last.  In  ray  notice  I  have  followe  I  y  tur  phrase- 
ology. I  would  have  preferred  another  form  of  declar  I'iori  more  in 
accordance  w^th  the  circumst-ances  of  the  case.  Inasmuch  however, 
as  my  declaration  to  a  considerable  extent  is  retaliatoiy  of  yours,  I 
have  deemed  it  more  appropriate  to  follow  your  own  form  of  cxpres- 
aicn 

I  have  refrained  from  declaring  exchanged  the  largo  residue  of  the 
Vicksburg  capture*.  The  only  addition  1  have  made  to  the  notifica- 
tions already  given  you  as  far  as  that  capture  is  conc'-rned.  is  the 
fourth  and  forty-sixth  Mississippi  regiments.  According  to  my  com- 
putation, you  are  considerably  in  debt  to  me  upon  your  exchange 
notice,  even  if  I  take  into  consideration  only  such  paroles  as  those  to 
which  R^  objection  has  been  made.  I  have  adopted  the  principles  of 
your  general  orders  in  the  computation  of  the  paroles  in  my  posses- 
sion, and  will  continue  to  do  so,  until  some  other  agreement  is  made 
between  us.  I  reserve  to  myself  the  right  to  make  furth-^r  declara- 
tions of  exchange  from  time  to  time,  based  upon  the  pirolos  in  my 
office,  until  I  have  declared  exchanged  a  number  of  Confederate  sol- 
diers equal  to  that  of  Federal  troops  declared  exchange<l  by  your  last 
notice.  At  the  same  time,  I  express  my  entire  willingness  to  adopt 
any  fair,  just,  and  reeiprocal  rule  of  computation. and  a[)ply  the  same 
both  to  the  past  and  the  future. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT   OULD. 

Agent  of  Exchange. 


102 

[No.  32.] 

BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH  TO  MR.  OULD. 

Head  Quarters,  Departmemt  of  Va.  and  N   C,      > 
Fort  M&nroe,  Oct.  17,  1862.  ] 
Hon.  RoBT.  OuLD, 

Agent  of  Exchange,  Richmond,  Va  : 

Sir  :  On  the  22d  day  of  May,  1863,  Lieut.  Col  Ludlow,  then  agent 
of  exchange  for  the  United  States,  enclosed  you  copies  of  general 
orders.  No.  49  and  No.  100,  of  War  Department,  announcing  regu- 
lations and  instructions  for  the  government  of  L^nited  States  forces  in 
the  field,  in  the  matter  of  paroles,  stating  that  these  orders  and  the 
cartel  are  to  govern  our  forces ;  when  the  cartel  conflicts  with  the 
orders  they  must  be  set  aside.  The  cartel  requires  that  prisoners  of 
war  shall  be  delivered  at  certain  named  places,  and  if  they  are  not  so 
delivered,  the  paroles  cannot  be  valid.  In  consequence  of  the  usage 
which  had  governed  both  parties  up  to  that  time,  instructions  were  sub- 
sequently issued  that  paroles  given  before  the  32d  of  May  should  be 
considered  valid,  though  deliveries  had  not  been  made  as  required  by 
the  cartel.  In  order  to  the  putting  in  force  these  instructions,  it  was 
not  necessary  to  ask  your  consent.  We  were  only  bound  to  notify 
you  that  from  that  time  the  cartel  would  be  ridgidly  adhered  to  by  us, 
and  the  same  course  would  be  exacted  of  the  Confederate  authorities. 

If  you  wish  paroles  recognized  when  the  parties  were  not  delivered 
at  the  places  named  in  the  cartel,  you  "ask  that  paroles  not  in  con- 
formity with  the  stipulations  of  the  cartel  should  be  regarded  as  valid.'" 

I  will  now  proceed  to  show  that  your  declaration  of  September  12th 
was  not  in  accordance  with  the  cartel.  Your  reference  to  acts  of 
Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow  does  not  sustain  you,  for,  according  to  ^^our  own 
letter,  Lieut.  Col.  L.  was  declaring  an  exchange  to  cover  a  "balance 
due"  on  declarations  previously  made  by  you.  The  troops  thus  de- 
clared exchanged  by  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow  are  as  follows : 

51st  Reg't  Ind.  Vol.  -  -  -  371 

75th     "       '<       "  .  -  -  268 

3d      "  Ohio     *'  -  -  -  311 

Tenn.  Cavalry,  _  .  .  58 


1 ,008 
Poroled  at  Mt.  Sterling,  -  -  -  4QS 


-O' 


1,471 


You  state  that  the  "excess,"  without  taking  into  account  the  Mount 
Sterling  captures,  was  2,290,  whereas  the  whole  number,  including 
said  captures,  amount  only  to  1,471. 

If,  in  making  up  this  balance,  Lieutenent  Colonel  Ludlow  failed  to 
give  rolls  and  numbers,  it  does  not  justify  you  in  anticipating  a  decla 


1(»3 

ration  by  me,  without  fiirnislung  me  cither  rolls  or  numbers,  or  givin;.; 
me  time  to  consult  the  records  to  make  them  up  for  myself.  When 
the  paroling  is  properly  doac,  b)th  parties  b;:ve  rolls,  and  then  thero 
•can  be  little  difficulty  in  arranging  an  exchange,  to  be  simaltanoously 
declared.  You  state  that  when  the  Federal  troops  were  dccbired  ex"- 
changed  to  the  6th  of  May,  the  Confedoi-ates  wbre  declared  exchanged 
to  the  22d  of  May,  inclusive  I  have  nothing  to  show  that  the  ex- 
changes on  both  sides  were  not  alike.  T)ie  (.'onfederate  prisoners  de- 
livered between  the  two  dattis  amount  to  5,U,S3  .privates,  and.  if  v.m* 
have  alrc:idy  received  cnuivalcnts  for  tbem.  they  should  be  deducted 
from  my  former  computation.  Without  counting  tliese,  the  number 
covered  by  your  declaration  of  September  12,  and  the  subsequent  ox  • 
planatt)ry  declaration  of  Septenaber  26,  amounts  to  29,40  '. 

The  number  of  Federal  troops  on  parole  to  September  1st,  and  de- 
clared exchanged,  amounts  to  23,01 1.  Tiic  officers  included  arc  those 
paroled  at  Gettysburg  and  elsewhere,  not.  those  delivered  at  City 
Point. 

These  numbers  differ  from  those  given  to  you  before,  bcc;\u3e,  in 
making  up  that  calculation,  all  enlisted  men  were  counted  alike, 
whereas  non-commissioned  officers  should  hive  been  counted  as  tv.'o 
privates. 

Giving  3'ou.  then,  credit  for  the  .'•jOS;]  enlistetl  men,  which  you  state 
were  delivered  at  (^ity  Point  between  llie  (ith  and  the  23  1  of  M:f.y,  and 
declared  exchanged  by  Colonel  fyudlow.  you  are  now  in  our  debt  5,03!' 
enlisted  men. 

You  state  that  you  have  in  your  pos<ess;,>n  valid  paroles,  amounting: 
to  16,iHH)  men.  For  all  the  prisoners  that  we  claiui  as  on  parole,  wi; 
can  show  the  rolls  of  delivery  at  the  places  named  in  the  cartel,  re- 
ceipted by  confederate  officers  ;  an«l  if  you  c»n  show  similar  rolls  or" 
the  16,nui)  men  you  speak  of,  they  *ill,  of  course,  be  recognised  as 
valid,  and  you  will  be  credited  with  them. 

Respectfully,  vour  ob't  servinl. 

S.  A.  MEPvEDITJ. 
Brig.  Gfii.  an  I  Com.  for  flcch. 


[No.  33.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  P.RIG.  GEN.   MEP»El>rni. 

Richmomj,  October  27.  \Hb'.< 

Brigadier  General  S,  A.  MKKF:iinij, 

^if^eiit  of  Excjiaiti  < : 

Sir:  In  reply  to  your  communication  of  tbe  17th  instant,  ]  ctato 
that  genera!  orders,  Nos.  19  and  lOd  were  not  sent  to  me  at  the  sftmo 
time.  I  received  ponoral  orders.  No.  49  long  before  No.  1)1)  was 
delivered  to  me.     'J'heir  respective  dates  will  show  that  to  be  tlj?  fact. 


104 

My  own  personal  recollection  is  that  general  orders,  No.  1 0il  waff 
yiever  coramunioated  in  a  letter.  It  is  my  habit  faithfully  to  keep  all 
letters  written  by  the  Federal  Agent  of  Exchange.  A  careful  search 
cf  the  records  of  my  office  does  not  disclose  any  letter  from  Lieut. 
Col..  Ludlow  communicating  general  orders.  No.  HU).  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Ludlow  met  itic  at  City  Toint  on  the  23d  of  May,  18G3,  and 
he  then  and  there  delivered  to  me  generals  orders.  No.  iOD,  stating 
t'int  the  principles  therein  announced  would,  in  the  future,  control  the 
Cpeiations  of  the  forces  of  the  United  States.  No  written  communi- 
cation accompanied  it.  If  any  one  was  ever  written  to  accompany  it, 
I  never  received  it.  You  are  in  error,  therefore,  v. hen  you  say  that 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Ludlow,  on  (he  22d  May,  18GS,  enclosed  copies 
cf  general  orders.  No.  40  and  No.  100,  announcing  legulations  and 
instructions  for  the  government  of  the  United  States  forces  in  the 
feld,  in  the  natter  of  paroles,  stating  that  these  orders  and  the  cartel 
vere  to  govern  your  forces,  and  thit  when  fh^  cartel  conflicted  with 
the  orders,  they  were  to  be  set  aside,  independent  of  the  facts  of  the 
Case,  I  am  justified  iu  paying  that  any  such  communication  would 
have  been  very  extnaordinary.  It  would  not  only  have  admitted  that 
the  general  orders  were  in  violation  of  the  cartel,  but  would  have 
declared  that  the  later  general  order,  which,  on  itsf;ice,  was  announced 
to  be  the  controlling  law,  should  be  set  aside  by  the  provisions  con- 
t'lined  in  an  earlier  paper. 

I  again  assert  that  tlie  only  notification  I  ever  received  as  to  ycur 
Fuccej'sive  changes  of  purpose  ia  the  matter  of  paroles,  was  from 
lyour  own  general  orders,  according  to  their  respective  dates,  deliv- 
ered to  me  without  any  further  comment  than  1  have  already  commu- 
nicated to  you. 

You  say  my  "  reference  to  the  actt^  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Ludlow  " 
does  not  sustain  me.  Y'ou  further  say  "  the  troops  thus  declared 
exchanged  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Ludlow  are  as  follows:" 

51st  Regiment  Indiana  Volunteers,    -----  ;"7! 

7oih         "               '^                  '.„...-  268 

Od           "           Ohio                "          ■-         -          -         -         -  311 

Tennessee  Cuvalry,             -          '          -          -          -          -          -  .j3 


1,()(),S 
Taroled  at  iilount-Storling,         =         --..-  463 


1,471 


Permit  me  to  say  that  I  read  this  paragraph  of  your  letter  with 
very  great  surprise.  In  my  letter  of  the  2d  instant,  which  you  were 
Contesting,  I  gave,  at  length,  the  communication  of  Lieutenant  Colo- 
nel Ludlow,  and  by  reference  to  it,  you  will  find  that  not  only  are  the 
rerriments  which  you  have  named  therein  mentioned,  but  also  the 
Holly  Springs  capture,  numbering  J, 383  privates,  the  9lst  Illinois 
regiment,  numbering  649  privates,  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
Indianohi,  numbering  69  privates,  and  the  80th  regitnent  Illinois  vol- 
iintecrs,  numbering  400   privates.     Not  only  is   that  the  case,   but 


105 
» 

your  enuracvation  of  1,471  privates  in  the  specified  regiments  is 
incoTiect.  Tlie,  truo-agget^ate  is  \,Gli>  privates.  Yon  niisnaitie  one 
of  tlie  regiments  ulso  The  rcgiinenl  declared  exchanged' Avas  not  the 
7oih  Indiana,  but  the  73d. 

Jri  an  interview  .with  mc  at  City  Point,  in  the  presence  of  Major 
Mn  ford,  you  admitted  that  all  Confederate  officers  and  soldiers  deliv- 
ered at  City  Point  before  the  2.id  of  May,  1863.  were  declared 
exclinnged,  while  the  Federal  soldier8  were  only  declared  CAchnnged 
up  to  May  (Ith.  1863.  Yet,  in  your  letter  written  subsequent  to  this 
admission,  you  say  you  *' have  nothing  to  show  that  exehuuges  on 
both  sides  were  not  ajike."  Since,  your  letter  tjf  the  17tl!,  in  ourlast 
interview  you  niaile  the  same  admission.  If  the  fact  is  denied  at  any 
timt',  I  stand  prepared  to  prove  it. 

As  to  your  computation  based  upon  ray  declarations  of  exchange, 
I  refer  you  to  my  letter  of  the  2d  of  October,  -863.  Eveiy  state- 
ment therein  contained  is  strictly  and  accurate]}^  correct.  I  again 
assert  what  I  am  ready  to  prove,  that  I  have  in  Tny  possession  more 
•  valid  paroles  of  your  officers'  and  men  than  would  be  an.tHj')ivalent  for 
the  exchanges  I  have  declared  up  to  this  date. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  OULl), 
Agent  of  Exihuvge. 


[No.  34. J 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

Richmond,  Oct.  2i).  1863. 

Brig.  Gon.  S.  A.  Merkdith, 

Agent  of  Exchange: 

?iR  :  More  than  a  month  ago  I  asked  your  acquiescence  in  a  pro- 
prsiiion,  that  all  officers  and  soldiers  on  both  sides  shouhl  be  released 
in  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the  cartel.  In  order  to  obviate 
the  difficulties  between  us,  I  suggested  that  all  officers  and  men  on 
boih  sides  should  be  released,  unless  they  were  subject  to  charges  ;  in 
which  event,  the  opposite  Government  should  have  the  right  of  holding 
one  or  iHore  iiostages,  if  the  retention  was  not  justified.  '  You  stated 
to  me,  in  conversation,  that  this  propof^ition  was  very  fair,  ami  that 
you  would  ask  the  consent  of  your  Government  to  it.  As  usual,  you 
have  as  yet  made  no  response.  I  tell  you  frankly,  1  do  not  expect 
any.  Perhap-^  you  may  <lisappoint  me.  and  tell  me  th:it  you  rejector 
accept  the  pioposition.  I  write  this  letter  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
to  your  recollection  my  proposition,  and  of  dissipating  the  idea  that 
seems  to  hiive  been  purposely  encouraged  by  your  public  papers,  that 
the  (Confederate  Government  has  refused  or  objected  to  a  system  of 
exchanges.  • 


106 

In  order  to  avoid  any  mistake  in  tuat  direction,  I  now  propose  that 
all  oaicers  and  men  on  both  sides  be  released  in  conformity  with  the 
provisions  of  the  cartel,  the  excess  on  one  side  or  the  other  to  he  on 
parole.  Will  jou  accept  this?  I  have  no  expectation  of  an  answer, 
but  perhaps  you  may  give  one.  If  Jt  does  come.  I  hope  it  will  be 
soon. 

llespectfully,  your  obeihent  servant, 

ROBERT    OULD, 
Agent  of  Exchange. 


[No.  55.] 

,MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.   GEN.  MEREDITH. 

HicHMOND,  Oct.  27th,  1863.     . 
Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange: 

Sir  :  I  enclose  to  you  a  iQcmoraTKiGTr.  of  the  paroles  to  Vy'hich  I 
have  referred  in  several  recent  coravnunications.  Most  of  these 
paroles,  you  will  observe,  are  antecedent  to  May  .23d,  1863.  The 
reascn  why  these  pTiroles  have  not  been,  heretofore  discharged,  is  that 
up  to  Julj,  1863,  we  had  the  advantage  of  prisoners  and  paroles. 
Not  one  of  these  paroles  is  covered  bj  any  declaraticft  of  exchange, 
except  the  one  lately  made  by  you.  For  no  one  of  them  ha,ve  I 
received  any  equivalent.  All  of  them  since  the  date  of  your  general 
orders.  No.  2U7,  were  given  in  pursuance  of  a  distinct  agreement 
between  the  commanders  of  two  opposing  armies.  I  have  many  other 
paroles  in  my  possession,  but  I  have  only  presented  those  which  are 
within  the  terms  of  your  general  orci'ers.,  according  to  their  respective 
dates. 

I  understand  there  are  other  paro'ies  doming  within  the  same  gene- 
ral orders,  which  were  given  by  your  ofJicers  and  men  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Mississippi  river.  They  have  not  as  yet  reached  me. 
When  they  do,  and  when  I  show  they  are  within  the  scope  of  your 
general  orders,  I  will  claim  them — otherwise  I  Avill  discard  them. 

I  have  also  received  other  informal  paroles,  which  I  have  sent  back 
for  correction.     These  are  also  within  the  provisions  of  your  general 
orders.     When  they  are  returned,  I  will  claim  them  also. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 

ROBERT  OULD, 
Agent  of  Exchange. 


107 

[No.  36.] 
BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH  TO  MR.  OULD. 

Offtck  Commfssionkr  fok  Exchange,       > 
:^orfrcss  Monroe,  Va. ,  Oct.  29,  1863.  \ 
Hon.  Ronr.HT  Ould, 

dgtnt  of  Exvhai^ge,  Richmond^  Va.  ' 

Sir:  I  am  in  receipt  of  your  communication  of  the  2(Uli  instant, 
the  tenor  of  which  induces  mo  to  make  some  exphvnatory  statements 
of  facts,  with  which,  it  would  seem,  you  need  to  be  reminded. 

The  system  of  exchanges,  of  prisoners  of  war,  determined  in  the 
existing  cartel,  was  first  interrupted*  by  the  declared  purpose  of  the 
Confederate  Government  to  make  certain  distinctions  in  the  treatment 
of  a  particular  class  of  troops,  officers  and  men,  in  violation  of  the 
provisions  of  the  cartel.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  first  step 
towards  the  irregularities  which  have  culminated  in  your  unequivocal 
declaration,  reported  by  me  to  my  government  on  the  8th  instant, 
that  "  you  will  proceed  to  declare  exchanges  whenever  you  conscien- 
tiously feel  that  you  have  the  right  to  do  so,  for  the  purpose  of  put- 
ting men  into  the  field." 

There  can  be  no  objections  to  your  acting  conscientiously  in  any 
given  casCj^  so  long  as  your  conscience  is  cn^ii^htened  and  guided  by 
those  laws  of  war  which  require  obedience  between  belligerents  to 
solemn  agreements,  entered  into  by  authorized  commissioners  acting 
in  the  name  of  their  respective  superiors.  But,  if  you  mean  by  the 
expression,  "  your  conscientious  sense  of  right,"  to  substitute  this 
sense  of  right  for  the  requirements  of  an  existing  cartel,  I  can  by  no 
means  concede  to  you  that  right;  and  if  you  do  not  mean  this,  I 
cannot  understand  what  you  do  mean  by  so  vague  and  general  a 
declaration.  Judging  by  your  recent  proceedings,  it  seems  that  you 
have  declared  exchanged  all  Confederate  officers  and  soldiers  on  parole 
within  wiiat  you  claim  as  your  lines,  up  to  a  very  recent  date,  with- 
out iiaving  anj'  proper  right  so  to  do,  either  under  the  cartel  or  under 
the  laws  of  war. 

The  history  of  this  matter,  as  I  understand  it,  is  briefly  this: 
"While  my  predecessor,  on  duty  at  this  place,  was  here,  in  dischargi' 
of  the  duties  now  committed  to  me,  you  at  one  time  made  a  declara-' 
tion  of  exchange,  embracing  no  great  number  (»f  prisoners  of  war, 
not  in  cecordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  cartel,  and  you  invited 
Col.  Ludlow,  my  predecessor,  to  make  a  corresponding  declaration  of 
equivalents.  Such  a  declaration  was  made  by  Col.  Ludlow,  doubtless 
without  anticipating  the  magnitude  of  the  evil  which  appears  now  as  the 
result  of  that  depanure  from  the  cartel,  first  inaugurated  by  yourself. 
Subsequently  to  my  coming  on  <luty  here,  the  events  of  the  war  threw 
upon  your  hands  a  large  body  of  paroled  officers  an<l  men  (over 
3(t, (»()(!,)  captured  by  General  Grant  at  Vicksburg,  and  not  long  after- 
wards some  6,0(10  or  more  capture<l  by  General  Banks  at  Port  Ilud.son. 

Suddenly,  and  without  any  proper  conference   or  understanding 


108 

with  rco.  and  but  a  few  (lavs  j.iior  t'o  tlic  imriortant  events  at  Chicka- 
iriuuga,  as  if  for  the  express  [)nrposc  of  incieasin;z  the  force  of  General 
Bragg  against  General  Roseticran.s,  you  gave  me  luitiee  that,  on  the 
next  day  after  the  date  of  tliir  notice,-  you  woul'l  declare  exchanged  a 
large  portion  of  the  troops  u'nich  had  "been  captured  by' Genl  Grant. 

When  your  declaration  w.is  made,  it  covered  an  indeterminate  num- 
ber of  troops,  designated  \>\  (Mmniands,  brigades,  divisions  and  corps, 
no  definite  number  either  .'t'  officers  or  men  being  designated.  Up  to 
that  time,  jou  had  delivered  at  ^'ity  Point  a  certnin  number  of  pris- 
oners of  var,  for  which  you  had  receipts,  by  v.hich  you  must  have 
known  the  number  you  nnaht  claim  the  right  to  discharge  from  their 
parole.  You  did  net  think  proper  to  limit  yoaraclf  to  this  number, 
nor,  in  any  proper  mannci-  .lid  you  refer  to  it,  but  made  your  decla- 
ration of  exchange  in  such  iu  Ipfinite  terms  as  iLnde  it  next  to  certain 
that  you  did  not  intend  to  he  governed  by  the  cartel.   • 

On  leferring  to  the  data  furnished  by  the  reports  of  General  Grant, 
and  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Commissary  General  of  prisoners'at 
Washington,  it  was  asceiitnir^ed  ihat  you  had  discharged  from  parole, 
by  your  declaration,  a  very  considerable  number  of  your  men  over 
and  above, any  claim  you  might  pretend  to,  founded  on  receipts  for 
prisoners  of  war  delivered  from  the  South  according  to  the  cartel. 

Without  referring  to  fractions,  it  appeared,  from  the  best  data  in 
our  hands,  that  you  had  discharged  three  for  tvjo,  or  one-third  more 
than  you  were  entitled  to. 

You  suggested  that  I  should  make  a  corresponding  declaration  of 
exchange,  when,  as  I  suppose,  ^ou  must  have  known  you  had  not 
delivered  to  me,  nor  had  yi.u  valid  paroles  of  our  men  sufficient  to 
cover  the  number  declared  exchanged  by  yourself,  and,  when  I  pro- 
ceeded to  make  the  declaration  extending  to  those  )nen  you  had 
delivered,  and  stated  to  you  my  objection  to  your  proceedings,  you 
insisted  that  you  bad  valid  p;i  roles  for  more  than  the  number  that  you 
Had  declared  exchanged,  though  you  failed  to  produce  those  paroles, 
or  togive  any  account  or  history  of  them  ;  and  you  tiien  proceeded  to 
make  a  further  declaration  of  e\ohanig;e,  iffnorinir  the  cartel  altosjether — 
basing  your  action  uponni-.  data,  communicated  to  n»e,  the  v^hole  proceed- 
ing resting,  as  I  suppose  you  will  say,  upon  yciu  sense  of  right,  as  if 
you  were  the  only  party. having  a  rig/it  to  an  opinion  on  the  subject — 
acting  evidently  in  anticipation  of  the  forratil  declaration  referred  to 
at  the  commencement  of  this  communication,  "that  you  will  proceed 
to  make  declarations  of  exchange  for  the  purpose  of  putting  troops 
into  the  field,  whenever  \ou  think  proper;"  and,  having  now 
exhausted,  by  a  declaration  of  exchange,  the  paroled  prisoners  in  your  ■y 
hands,  you  propose  to  me  the  delivery  of  prisoners  of  war  in  our 
hands,  for  whom  you  have  no  equivalents — or,  comparatively,  but 
very  few — in  order,  as  it  were,  that  you  may  obtain  possession  of 
many  thousand  more  men  of  your  own,  delivered  or  on  parole,  for  the 
purpose  of  declaring  them  also  exchanged,  and  putting  them  into  the 
field,  not  in  conformity  with  the  existing  cartel,  nor  in  accordance 
with  the  U'Jages  of  war,  but  whenever,  in  your  individual  judgment, 
you  may  think  it  proper  to  do  so. 


109 

I  have  only  to  s.<\(\,  that  an  easy  inference  from  this  statement  is 
the  answer  1  have  to  make  to  your  propositi  of  the  20th  instant,  which 
ifl  not  accepted. 

Respectfully,- your  obedient  servant, 

S.  A.   MEREDITH, 
Brig.  Gen.  and  ("ommrsu'wnei'  for  Uxchnnge. 


[No.  37] 
MU.  OULI)  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

CoNFEDKBATK.   StaTKis  OK  AmkRIOA,   WaR   DePARTMKN"",         } 

liic/iviond,  October  31,  1SG3.  j 
lirig.   GfB.   S.   A.   Mr.KK.niTii. 

A^tnt  of  Exchange  : 

SIr  :  Your  comniuuication  of  the  'IVtih  instant,  has  been  received, 
«nd  its  extraordinary  and  groundless  9fat<  uients  read  with  surprise. 

You  first  represent  mo  as  having  infonne  i  you  that  I  would  proceed 
Ut  dcciir.'o  oxch.inges  whenever  I  conscientinusly  felt  tliat  I  had  the 
right  to  do  so,  for  the  purpose  of  putting  men  into  the  fiehl.  In  an- 
other piirt  of  yo'ir  letter  I  am  charged  with  having  stated  that  I  v/ould 
proceed  to  rrnke  declarations  of  exchange  for  the  purpose  of  putting 
troops  into  the  field,  whenever  I  thought  proper.  Both  of  those  para- 
graphs ;;ic  between  fpiotation  ruarks,  to  indicate  that  I  had  communi- 
cated I'.etr!.  M'M'eover,  they  arc  monticmed  as  beingmy  "une(]ijivocal 
declaration,"  Upon  a  faithful  examination  of  my  correspondence 
with  yon  and  your  predeceasjr,  I  can  find  no  instance  in.  which  such 
latguagt*  his  been  used  by  me.  Will  you  inform  mo  of  the  date  of 
any  such  communication,  or  furnish  n)e  with  a  copy  cf  it?  If  you 
cannot,  you  will  certainly  deem  me  justified  in  denouncing  your  state- 
ment as  utterly  without  foundation  in  truth. 

Upon  these  premises  you  have  proceeded  to  throw  off  8un(iry  sen- 
toritcH.njore  flippant  tlian  worthy  of  notice.  As  usual,  however,  you 
finish  tlie  paragraph  which  contains  them  with  a  misstatement,  in  as- 
serting that  1  "have  declared  exchanged  all  lyonfedernto  officers  and 
men  on  parole."  within  our  lines,  ''  up  to  a  very  recent  date."  I  have 
done  no  nuch  thing.  I  specially  excepted  the  larger  part  of  the  Vicks- 
burg  captures.     • 

Y'^ou  then  proceed  to  give  what  you  call  **  a  history  of  this  matter." 
That  history,  like  many  others,  turns  out  to  be  a  romance.  Lieut. 
Col.  Ludlow's  declarations  of  exchange,  to  which  I  referred  in  my 
letter  of  October  '?,  I8fi3,  were  not  made  in  response  to  any  invita- 
tion from  mo.  or  in  consequence  of  any  previous  declarations  which  I 
hni  made.  I  di  1  not  *' inaugurate"  wh'it  you  term  "  a  <lepartur6 
from  the  cartel.  '  The  correspondence  of  the  office  vet-y  clearly  shows 
that  fact. 

You  arc  wnng,  nUo,  in  your  statement  that  the  Vicksburg  capture 


no 

was  subsequent  to  your  '•  coming  to  duty  "  at  Fortress  Monroe.  I 
received  official  communications  from  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow  as  late  as 
July  23,  1863,  weeks  after  the  Vicksburg  surrender,  and  none  from 
you  until  the  25th  of  the  sara'e  month. 

Your  charge  that  the  declaration  of  exchange,  bearing  date  Sep- 
tember 12,  1863.  was  mads  "  as  if  for  the  express  purpose  of  increas- 
ing the  force  of  Gen  )ral  Bragg  against  General  Rosencrans."  This, 
also,  is  untrue.  The  declaration  was  not  published  until  several  days 
after  the  12th,  although  it  bore  that  date.  Not  one  of  the  officers  or 
men  named  in  that  declaration  of  exchange  was  on  the  battle-field  of 
Chickamauga. 

You  further  say  I  must  have  known  that  I  had  not  delivered  to  you, 
nor  had  I  valid  paroles  of  your  men,  sufficient  to  cover  the  number 
declared  exchanged  by  me.  I  knew  exactly  thi.  contrary,  and  so  in- 
formed you.  On  the  12th  of  September,  1SG3,  in  announcing  the 
declaration  of  exchange  I  v,^ould  make  on  the  following  day,  I  wrote 
ro  you  that  I  had  ••  in  my  possession  more  valid  paroles  of  your  officers 
and  men  than  wouM  be  au  equivalent  for  the  officers  and  men"  enu- 
merated in  the  exchange  notice.  I  have  made  the  same  statement  to 
you  more  than  once  since.  I  am  prepared  to  prove  that  it  was  true 
each  time  it  was  uttered. 

You  gay  your  declaration  of  exchange  extended  to  those  whom  I 
had  ddivered.  If  you  mean  that  it  was  limited  to  such,  you  are  incor- 
rect ;  for  it  declared  exchanged  all  officers  and  men  of  the  United 
iStates  army  captured  and  paroled  at  any  time  previous  to  the  1st  of 
September,  )Sl53,  and  included  many  thousands  of  prisoners  taken 
and  paroled  by  our  cavalry  and  other  forces,  in  many  States  of  the 
Oonf:deracy,  never  delivered  by  me.  I  have  already  furnished  you  a 
memorandum  of  at  least  sixteen  thousand  of  these  paroled  prisoners. 

You  say  I  failed  to  produce  the  paroles,  or  to  give  any  account  or 
history  of  them.  If  you  mean  that  I  refused  to  do  so,  it  is  not  true. 
I  offered  to  produce  them  at  any  time,  and  importuned  you  to  agree 
to  some  pi'inciple  by  v/hich  they  could  be  cora"puted  and  adjusted. 
When  I  last  met  you  at  City  Point,  you  requested  me  for  the  first 
time  to  send  to  you  a  memorandum  of  the  paroles  claimed  as  valid  by 
roe.  I  furnished  you  with  the  list  on  the  27th  instant,  that  being  the 
first  day,  after  your  request,  on  which  a  flag  of  truce  boat  appeared 
at  City  Point. 

You  say  I  then  proceeded  to  make  a  further  declaration  of  exchange, 
ignoring  the  cartel  altogether,  and  resting  the  whole  proceeding,  as 
you  suppose,  on  my  sense  of  right.  There,  again,  you  arc  mistaken. 
I  did  not  rest  the  proceeding  entirely  upon  ray  sense  of  right ;  I  re- 
lied, in  some  measure,  upon  yours,  and  to  that  extent,  its  propriety 
may  be  doubtful.  In  communicating  to  you  Exchange  Notice,  Is'o.  7, 
which  is  the  one  to  which  you  refer,  I  wrote  to  you  as  follows :  '•  I 
herewith  enclose  to  you  a  declaration  of  exchange,  which  I  shall  pub- 
lish in  a  day  or  two.  You  will  perceive  it  is  based  upon  the  declara,- 
tion  of  exchange  eoramunicated  t)  me  in  your  letter  of  the  24th  of 
September  lust.  In  my  notice  I  have  followed  your  phraseology.  1 
would  have  preferred  another  form  of  declaration,  more  in  accordance 


Ill 

vrith  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  my  dec- 
laration, to  a  considerable  extent,  is  retaliatory  of  yours,  I  have 
deemed  it  more  appropriate  to  follow  your  own  form  of  expression." 
Your  letter  of  the  24th  of  September  declared  that  **  all  officers  and 
men  of  the  United  States  aimy,  captured  and  paroled  at  any  time  pre- 
vious to  the  1st  of  September,  1803,  are  duly  exchanged."  On  the 
16th  of  October  following,  I  declared  exchanged  ''all  [Confederate] 
officers  and  men  captured  and  paroled  at  any  time  previous  to  the  1st 
of  September,  1863."  If  that  was  "ignoring  the  cartel,"  as  you 
charge.  1  only  followed  your  example.  Our  declarations  of  exchange 
were  precisely  similar,  except  that  in  another  part  of  my  notice  I  re- 
served from  its  operation  the  larger  part  of  the  Yicksburg  paroles.  If 
I  had  followed  your  "  sense  of  right,"  as  I  then  had  and  still  claim 
the  right  to  do,  I  would  have  included  all. 

The  Confederate  authorities  •take  it  unto  themselves  as  a  proud  and 
honorable  boast,  that  they  have  determined. all  these  matters  of  paroles 
and  exchanges  according  to  their  "  sense  of  right,"  and  not  by  any 
views  of  temporary  expediency.  In  following  that  guide,  they  have 
at  least  shunned  some  examples  furnished  by  your  Government.  They 
have  never,  in  violation  of  their  general  orders,  and  without  notice 
to  the  adverse  party,  ordered  their  paroled  officers  and  men  to  break 
their  solemn  covenant,  and,  without  exchange,  lift  their  arms  against 
their  captors.  They  have,  therefore,  escepcd  the  pangs  of  that  re- 
tributive justice  which  made  your  general  order  of  July  3,  1863, 
though  so  well  suited  to  the  meridian  of  Gettysburg,  invalidate  the 
paroles  given  at  Port  Hudson,  on  the  9th  of  the  same  month.  Upon 
further  reflection,  I  am  sure  you  will  be  satisfied  that  it  does  not  be- 
come your  authorities,  who  have  chosen,  whenever  they  felt  so  dis- 
posed, without  notice  or  consent  from  us,  to  repudiate  the  established 
usages  of  exchange,  and  put  new  constructions  upon  the  cartel,  to 
complain  that  others  have  acted  according  to  their  sense  of  right. 

Not  content  with  all  the  misstatements  of  fact  which  I  have  cited, 
you  have,  in  your  letter  of  the  29th  instant,  descended  to  a  malignant 
and  wanton  aspersion  of  the  motives  of  the  Confederate  authorities  in 
making  the  proposal  contained  in  my  letter  of  the  2i)th  instant.  You 
were  asked  to  agree  "  that  all  officers  and  men  on  both  sides  should  be 
released,  the  excess  on  one  side  or  tl;e  other  to  be  on  parole."  It 
would  have  been  injustice  enough  to  the  many  thousands  of  your 
prisoners  in  our  hands,  and  to  those  of  our.s  in  your  custody,  simply 
to  have  declined  the  proposal.  But  you  have  thought  proper  to  add 
to  your  refusal  the  gratuitous  insult  to  the  Confederate  States,  of  inti- 
mating that  their  fair  and  honest  offer  was  made  for  the  purpose  of 
putting  into  the  field  officers  and  men  fraudulently  exchanged.  This 
calumny  is  as  destitute  of  foundation  in  fact,  as  it  is  despicable  in 
spirit. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  tell  you  that  the  purpose  of  your  letter  is  ap- 
parent. It  has  been  well  known  for  a  long  time  that  your  authorities 
are  opposed  to  a  fair  and  regul.-^r  exchange  of  prisoners  under  the 
cartel.  In  rejecting  my  propot'ition  you  have  endeavored  to  conceal, 
under  a  cloud  of  vague  charges  and  unfounded  statements,  the  deter- 


112 


mination  at  which  your  Government  long  since  arrived.  "  Why  not  bo 
frank  once?  Why  not  say,  without  any  further  subterfuges,  that 
you  have  reached  the  conclu5(ion  that  our  officers  and  soldiers  are  more 
valuable^  man  for  m^n,  than  yours  ? 

Rcppectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD,  Agent  of  Exchange. 


[No.  38.] 

BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH   TO  MR.  OULD. 

Office  ok  Commfssione?!  for  ExcHvNca..  ) 
Fortress  Monroe,   Va.,  Nov.  7th,  lS6;i.       S 

Hon.  liOBE^^T  Olld, 

Agent  of  Exduwge,  Richmond,    Va.  : 

Si:{  :  In  your  communication  of  Oct.  27th,  you  state,  "that  general 
orders  N'os.  49  and  100  were  not  sent  to  you  at  tlie  same  ti-no."  I 
forward  jcu  herewith  a  copy  of  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow's  letter,  inclosing 
to  you  the  two  orders  above-mentioned,  and  bearing  date  ^ii}'  22d, 
1863.  •  . 

These  two  orders  announced  general  rules,  based  on  the  usages  of 
war,  which,  in  the  absence  of  any  specific'  agreement  between  belli- 
gerents, should  govern  in  paroling  prisoners  of  war,  but  in  tbi.s  case, 
a  cartel  had  already  been  agreed  upon,  and  no  order  of  either  party 
could  set  aside  any  of  its  provisions.  For  instance  :  A  commander, 
on  being  capturerl,  might,  under  some  circumstances,  give  a  parole 
for  himself  and  his  command,  without  violating  general  order  No. 
IIH),  (which  includes  general  order  No.  4.'),)  but  unless  tlie  paroling 
was  done  at  t;ity  Point  or  other  named  place,  it  would  be  in  violation 
of  the  e.irtel,  and  the  paroles  must  therefore  bo  set  aside  as  invalid. 
No  exception -could  be  taken  to  this  course  by  the  party  granting 
the  parole,  because  the  validity  of  the  parole  depends  on  a  strict  com- 
pliance with  the  provisions  of  the  cartel,  and  when  any  other  course 
is  followed,  than  that  pointed  out  by  that  instrument,  any  claim  based 
upon  it  must  fail.  Paragraph  130,  of  order  UK),  which  prescribes 
the  duties  which  a  paroled  soldier  may  perform,  is  also,  to  some 
extent,  set  aside  by  the  cartel,  which  restricts  these  duties  to  a  much 
more  limited  field  than  the  order.  Paragraph  ISl  is  also  made  inope- 
rative by  the  cartel,  because  it  could  only  apply  to  paroles  not  given 
at  the  points  designated  for  delivery  ;  all  such  paroles  are,  by  the 
cartel,  raiide  invalid,  and  the  paroling  party  could  therefore- have  no 
pretext  for  claiming  their  recognition.  If  such  a  claim  could  be 
admitted,  the  effect  at  Gettysburg  would  have  been  to  give  to  Gen. 
Lee,  the  privilege  of  placing  his  prisoners  in  our  hands,  to  he  deliv- 
ered to  him,  at  our  own  charge,  at  City  Point,  which  is  so  manifestly 
absurd,  that  even  you  cannot  claim  it.     General  order  No.  207,  was 


113 

intended  simply  to  announce  to  the  army,  th;it  the  irregular  practice 
of  paroling  small  squads  of  men  and  individuals,  without  rolls  or 
other  rcliahle  evidence  of  any  kind,  which  had  very  generally  pre- 
vailed, must  he  discontinued,  and  that  thereafter,  the  cartel  shouhl  be 
rigidly  adhered  to.  This  announcement  had  been  made  to  the  Con- 
federate authorities  through  you. 

There  have  been  no  ''successive  changes  of  pirpose  in  the  matter 
of  paroles,"'  as  you  assert,  nor  changes  of  any  kind,  except  so  far  as 
to  rt'turn  to  a  strict  obervance  of  the  cartel;  ami  thi.s  is  a  change, 
the  propriety  of  which,  I  do  not  think  jou  can  qucsiion. 

The  ligures  which  I  gave  you  in  my  lcttoi"«of'  October  17th,  were 
not  given  as  embracing  all  declared  exchanged  in  general -rder  Ib7, 
of  June  8th,  but  only  those  which  Lieut.  Ool.  Ludlow  used,  to  make 
up  the  halm  ce  due  him  after  arranging  that  declaration  with  you.  It 
was  the  declaration  which  Lieut.  Col.  liudlow  made  to  cover  this 
balance,  that  you  cite,  as  the  precedent  which  authorized  you  to 
announce  so  une.vpectedly  your  declaration  of  ISoptember  l'2th.  TMio 
Si'rh  Illinois,  31 1  men,  not  4iMI,  as  you  say,  was  accidentally  omitted 
from  my  letter,  and,  by  a  clerical  error,  the  73d  Indiana  was  written 
75th  Indiana.  Paragraphs  5  and  6,  of  General  Order  167,  cover  the 
troops  referred  to,  and  other  paragraphs  cover  the  captures  mentioned 
by  you.  Any  discrepancy  in  numbers  declared  exchanged  at  that 
time,  on  either  side,  is  of  little  consequence,  as  up  to  the  date  of  that 
order,  it  is  assumed  that  the  exchange  account  was  satisfactorily 
balanced. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  A.    MEREDITH, 
Brig.    Gtn.  and  Corner  for  Exchange. 


[No.  39.] 
LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW  TO  MR.  OULD. 

Headquarters  Dep't  of  Va.,  7th  Armv  Corps,  ^ 
Fort  Monroe,   Va.,  May  22,    1863.       ] 

Hon.  Robert  Ould, 

Agent  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners  : 

Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  to  you  copies  of  General  Orders 
No.  4f)  and  No.  100,  of  War  Department,  announcing  regulations 
*nd  instructions  for  the  government  of  the  United  States  forces  in 
the  field,  in  the  matter  of  paroles.  These,  together  with  the  stipula- 
tions of  the  cartel,  will  govern  our  army.  I  would  invite  your  special 
•ttention  to  article  7  of  the  cartel,  which  provides  that  all  prisoners 
of  war  shall  be  sent  to  places  of  delivery  therein  specified.  The 
«xecution  of  this  article  will  obviate  mush  discussion  and  difficulty 
growing  out  of  the  mode,  time,  and  place  of  giving  paroles.  No 
8 


114 

paroles  or  exchanges  will  be  considered  binding,  except  those  under 
the    stipulations    of    said    article,    permitting    commanders   of  two 
)pposing  armies   to  exchange  or   release  on   parole  at  other   points 
iftutually  agreed  on  by  said  commanders. 
I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  II.   LUDLOW, 
Lieut.   Col.  and  Agent  for  Excfiange  of  Prisoners. 


[No.  40.] 

MK.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

C.  S.  A.,  War  Depautment, 
Bichmond,   Va.,  Nov.  18th,  1863. 


\.i^ 


g.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange  : 

Sir  :  In  your  communication  of  Nov.  7th,  1863,  you  enclose  a  copy 
iS:  a  letter  bearing  date  May  22d,  1863,  purporting  to  have  beeis 
•JrTitten  by  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow  and  addressed  to  me. 

I  reiterate  what  I  have  before  said,  that  general  order  No.  100, 
wlLen  it  was  delivered  to  me,  was  not  accompanied  by  any  written 
'•.ommunication.  You  are  aware  that  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow  was  at  City 
-•oint  on  the  23d  of  May.  It  is  unquestionably  true  that  he  wrote 
ti5.e  aforesaid  letter  on  the  22d,  at  Fortress  Monroe.  It  is  just  as  true 
iiiat  he  brought  it  with  him  to  City  Point.  My  own  personal  recol- 
lection is  perfectly  distinct  that,  at  the  conclusion  of  our  interview  at 
Oity  Point,  he  took  the  pamphlet  containing  general  order  No.  100 
from  a  package,  the  seal  of  which  he  broke  at  the  time,. and  delivered 
haid  order  into  my  hands,  with  the  remark  that  its  provisions  in  the 
::atiire  would  govern  the  operations  of  the  United  States  forces.  Why  he 
retained  the  letter  I  do  not  know.  The  fact,  however,  is  exactly  as  I 
have  stated  it,  and  fully  explains  why  a  copy  of  the  letter  was  on 
!  /leut.  Col.  Ludlow's  letter  book.  I  do  not  want  to  be  understood  for 
c)G.0  moment  as  imputing  any  fraud  or  improper  conduct  in  what  Lieut. 
CoL  Ludlow  did  in  the  premises.  He  undoubtedly  thought  the 
remark  he  made  at  the  time  of  the  delivery  dispensed  with  the  neces- 
sity of  giving  me  the  letter. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT   OULD, 

Agent _  of  Exchange. 


CORrvESPONDENCE 

Melative  tv  General  Morgan  and  his  9ne?i. 


[No.  41.] 
% 
BRIG.  GEN.   MEREDITH  TO  MR.  OULD. 

Office  Commissioner  for  Exchange,  i 
Fortress  Monroe,  July  'M)y  1303.      \ 

\lon.  Robert  Ould, 

Commissioner  for  Exchange,  ^c,  Richmond,  Vn.  :■ 

Sir  :  This  will  inform  you,  and,  through  jou,  the  authorities  under 
"whom  you  act,  that  Genjral  John  II.  Morgan  and  his  officers  will  be 
^•laced  in  close  ccnfineraeut^and  held  as  hostages  for  the  members  of 
Colonel  Strcight's  command,  whq  have  not  been  delivered  in  compliance 
■with  the  coLditicns  of  the  cartel  agreed  to  by  Major  General  Dix  and 
^fajor  General  Hill. 

Respectfully,  vonr  obedient  servant, 

S.  A.  MEREDITH, 
Brig.  Gen.  U.  S.  Vols,  and  Corn'r  for  Exchange. 


[No.  42.] 
MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

War  Department,      > 
Richmond,  Va.,  August  I,  186,0.  ) 

Brigadier  General  S.  A.  Mereoitji, 

Agent  of  Exchange : 

Sir:  I  am  in  receipt  of  vour  communication  of  the  3()th  ultimo, 
informing  me  that  ''General  John  H.  Morgan  and  his  officers  will  be 
placed  in  close  confinement  and  held  as  hostages  for  the  members  of 
Colonel  Streight's  command."  I  beg  leave  respectfully  to  apk  what 
youmean  by  '♦  close  confinemont  ?"  In  what  respect  will  that  "  close 
confinement"  differ  from  ihe  confinement  of  other  pri.«oncrs,  oflBcers 
:ind  men. 


116 

Oolonel  Streight's  comiTiand  is  treated  exactly  as  are  the  other 
officers  held  in  captivity  by  us.  What  that  treatuicnt  is  you  can  find 
from  any  conscientious  officer  who  has  lately  been  confined  in  the 
Libby.  You  will  hear  no  complaint  from  mc  or  from  ihe  Confederate 
authorities  so  long  as  oug;'  officers  receive  the  treatment  which  yours 
do  here. 

You  further  say  that  "*  Colonel  Streight's  command  have  not  been 
delivered  in  compliance  with  the  conditions  of  the  cartel  agreed  to  by 
Major  Gener:^l  l)ix  and  M:tjor  General  Hill. 

]n  ret;iiriing  Colonel  Streight  and  his  command  ihe  Confederate 
authorities  have  not  gone  as  far  as  tiiose  of  the  United  States  have 
claimed  fcr  themselves  the  ri^iit  to  go  ever  since  the  estabjishraeiit  of 
that  cartel.  You  have  claimed  Jifid  exercised  the  right  to  retain  officers 
and  men  indefinitely,  not  only  upon  charges  actually  preferred,  but 
upon  mere  suspicions.  Y'^ou  have  now  in  custody  officers  who  were  in 
confinement  when  the  carttl  was  fjamed,  and^  who  have  hinco  beeji 
declared  rxchiinged.  Some  of  them  have  been  tried,  but  most  of  them 
have  languished  in  prison  all  the  weary  time  without  trial  or  charges. 
I  8tan<l  prepared  to  prove  these  assertions.  This  course  was  pursued, 
too,  in  the  face  not  only  of  notice  but  protest.  Do  you  deny  us  the 
right  to  detciln  offic6i8  and  men  for  trial  upon  grave  charges,  wnile 
you  claim  the  right  to  keep  in  confinementany  who  may  be  theobjeet» 
•of  your  suspicion  or  special  enmity  ? 

Respectfully,  your  obedient'servant, 

ROBERT  OULD, 
Agent  of  Exchange^ 


[No.  43.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

RicHMO.sn,  August  28,  1863. 
Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange 

Sir  :  Some  time  ago  I  addressed  a  commuuication  to  you,  asking 
why  you  held  General  Morgan  in  close  confinement,  and  what  was  its 
nature  ?  To  that  I  have  received  no  reply.  In  that  I  am  not  disap- 
pointed, as  it  is  not  the  habit  of  the  Federal  agent  of  Exchange  to 
answer  enquiries.  Since  then  I  have  seen  in  your  papers  detailed 
accounts  of  the  treatment  General  Morgan  and  his  brother  officers 
iiave  received.  What  does  this  mean  ?  It  is  alleged  that  this  course 
is  pursued  in  retaliation  for  the  confinement  of  Colonel  Streight  and 
Ills  officers.  I  have^ready  assured  you  that  those  officers  are  treated 
exactly  as  all  others  held  in  confinement  at  the  Libby.  Colonel 
Streight  has  expressed  to  me,  in  person,  his  satisfaction  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  he  was  treated.     Do  you  wish  him  shaved  and  put 


117 

In  a  felon's  cell  ?  If  you  do,  you  are  pursuing  exactly  the-eourse  to 
effect  it  May  I  again  ask.  why  have  you  put  General  Morgia  and 
iiis  brother  officer  in  a  penitentiary?  I  have  but  faint  hopes  of  get- 
ting !'ny  reply,  but  under  the  circumstances  1  have  ventured  the 
question. 

Respectfully, ^our  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  OULl). 
Agent  of  Exclumge. 


[No.    '14.] 

BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH  TO  MR.  OULD. 

nE.\DQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF    A^A.,  7x11  ArMY  CoKl'S,  ^ 

i;,.r/rm- il/o;iroe,  Sept.  311,  18(i. 5.       \ 

Hon.    RoBKRT  0UL1>, 

Agint  of  Exchange^  Richmond,  Va.: 

Sir  :  Had  I  succeeded — after  waiting  thirty  hour.s — in  oht:iining  an 
int^'rvicw  with  you  when  I  was  last  at  City  Point — I  had  intfuleti  to 
explain  to  you  that  the  United  States  authorities  had  nothiig  what- 
ever to  do  with  the  treatment  that  General  Morgan  and  hi-*  c  urunand 
received  wht^a  imprisoned  at  Columbus.  Such  treatment  was  wholly 
unauthorized. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

t  *  S.   A.  MEREDITH, 

Brig.  Gin.  and  CorrCr  for  Exc'<ange. 


[No.   40] 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

Ricn.MOND,  October  2,  1863. 
Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange: 

Sir  :  As  you  did  not  have  the  opportunity  to  explain  to  me  at  Oity 
Point  how  '•  the  United  States  authorities  h  d  nothing  to  do  wiih  the 
treatment  that  General  Mor.an  and  his  command  receive<l  when  im- 
pri.'-oned  afOdumhuH,"  will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  do  it  now  ?  I  thought 
Morgan  and  his  command  we;e  prisoners  of  war,  captured  by  the 
Uni»i».l  StatcH  forces,  and  therefore  in  their  custody.  You  and  1  have 
tailed  twice  about  General  Morgan,  and  no  hint  was  thrown  out  that 
he'vaB  not  a  prisoner  of  the  United  States.     So  far  from  that,  on  the 


118 

30th  of  July  last,  you  informed  me  by  letter  that  *'  General  John  H, 
Morgan  and  his  officers  will  be  placed  in  close  confinement  and  held 
as  hostages  for  the  members  of  Colonel  Streight's  command."  Will 
you  please  explain  to  me  what  you  meant  by  this  notice  of  the  3()th 
of  July,  if  "the  United  States  authorities  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
treatment  that  General  Morgan  and  his  command  received."  Nay. 
more,  will  you  enlighten  me  as  to  the  point,  whyth?  United  States 
authorities  have  allowed  their  prisoners  and  "hostages"  to  receive 
such  "  unauthorized  treatment"  for  two  months  ?  1  hope  the  reason 
is  not  of  such  a  nature  that  it  can  only  bo  communicated  in  a  whisper. 
Lot  me  have  it  on  paper. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  OULD, 
Agent  of  Exchange, 


[No.  46. J 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

Richmond,  October  13,  1S63.     . 
Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange  : 

Sir:  Accompanying  this  communication  you  will  find  the  copy  of 
■a  letter  from  Lieutenant  Colonel  Alston,  of  General  Morgan's  com- 
mand. Lieutenant  Colonel  Alston  is  the  officer  who  was  delivered  at 
City  Point  by  the  last  flag  of  true  boat.  On  the  3l)th  of»September 
last,  you  informed  me  that  "  the  United  States  authorities  had  nothing 
whatever  to  do  with  the  treatment  that  General  Morgan  and  his  com- 
mand received  when  impri.-oned  at  Columbus."  In  my  interview 
with  you,  about  one  weok  ago,  you  informed  me  that  General  Morgan 
and  his  officers  were  held  for  ot|iers  than  "  the  members  of  Colonel 
Streight's  command."  You  showed  me  a  letter  from  General  Hitch- 
cock, in  which  the  fact  was  announced.  It  seems  that  your  authori- 
ties, having  been  assured,  eitiier  from  my  representations  or  from 
those  of  your  own  people  in  confinement  at  Richmond,  that  Colonel 
Strieght  and  his  officers  were  receiving  precisely  the  same  treatment 
as  that  of  other  prisoners,  they  have  adopted  some  other  excuse  for 
the  continued  confinemert  of  General  Morgan  and  his  officers  in  a 
penitentiary.  I  ask  if  this  does  not  show  a  determination  to  keep 
these  officers  in  a  confinement  intended  to  be  ignominious  ?  When 
one  excuse  fails  another  is  set  up. 

Your  Secretary  of  War  has  himself  borne  testimony  of  the  "  honor  " 
of  Lieutenant  Colonel?Alston.  I  therefore  call  your  attention  to  His 
communication,  and  again  ask  you  how  can  'general  Morgan's  original 
incarceration  in  the  Ohio  penitentiary,  his  continued  confinement 
therein,  the  indignities  received  by  him  and  his  brother  officers,  and 
your  announcement  at  our  last  interview  be  explained,  if  "  the  United 


119 

States  authorities  had  nothing  to  tlo  with  the  treatment  General  Mo- 
fjan   and     his   command  received  when    imprisoned    at   Columbus?" 
Will  you  also   inform  me  whether  the  ''United    States   aiithorities'' 
intend  to  treat  these  Officers   as  felons   in   the  future  ?     And,  if  not, 
whether  those  authorities  will  allQw  others  so  to  treat  them  ? 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD, 
Agent  of  I^xchangc 


[No.  47.] 
LIEUT.  COL.  ALSTON  TO  MR.  SKDDON. 

Richmond,  October  U\  1863. 
Ifon.  Jami:s  A.  Sp-nooN, 
\  Secretary  of  War  : 

In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  beg  leave  to  submit  the  follow- 
ing statement : 

On  the  5th  day  of  July  last,  Briga<lier  General  John  IL  Morgaji 
in  command  of  a  foixe  of  Confederate  cavalry,  attacked  the  Federal 
garrison  at  Lebanon,  Kentucky,  which  consisted  of  the  twentietL 
regiment  Kentucky  volunteer  infantry,  about  five  hundred  men,  and  u 
section  of  artillery,  about  forty  men,  all  under  the  command  of  Lieut. 
Colonel  Charles  L.  Hanson.  After  a  severe  •engagement  of  about 
seven  hours,  "Colonel  Hanson  surrendered  the  entire  force  that  had 
not  been  killed  Ho  requested  General  Morgan  to  parole  him  and  hie 
command,  to  which  General  Morgan  objected,  **  that  his  (Colonc; 
Hanson's)  Government  had  published  a  general  order,  that  no  more 
such  paroles  would  be  respected.-'  Colonel  Hanson  replied,  •' that  h( 
was  aware  of  this  order,  but  this  was  a  case  which  he  believed,  on 
proper  representation  to  higher  authority,  would  be  permitted'as  &h 
exception  to  this  order ;  and,  at  any  rate,  if  General  Morgan  woult^ 
grant  the  parole  to  himself  and  the  officers  and  men  of  his  regiment^ 
he  would  pledge  his  personal  honor  that  lie  not  only  would  observe  it, 
but  would  see  that  every  other  one  to  whom  the  privilege  was  e.\tend:'d 
.'^honld  observe  it.  If,  after  making  a  proper  statement  of  all  the  factn 
^0  higher  authority,  he  should  be  ordered  ba^-k  into  service,  he  would 
pledge  himself  to  report  to  General  Morgan  at  some  point  within  t}»( 
Confederate  lines.  ' 

This  interview  took  place  in  the  presence  of  several  officers,  amon^' 
whom  were  Captain  Davis,  Assstaut  Adjutant  General  of  Duke'n 
brigade,  who  was  an  official  witness  of  all  that  was  said,  and  wh( 
immediately  reported  it  to  me,  and  brought  the  order  from  (ienera! 
Morgan  for  me  to  parole  Colonel  Hanson  and  his  men  and  officertj 
Acting  under  these  instructions,  I  paroled  them  on  the  evening  of  th<- 
."ith  of  July,  and  on  the  8th  of  July,  Captain  William  Campbell,  oi 
our  command,  and  a  small  detachment  of  his  men,  were  captured  by  a 
portion  of  this  very  regiment,  and  were  treated,  on  their  arrival  at 


120 

Nicholasville,  with  the  greatest  indignity  by  Capt.  Frank  E.  Walcott, 
of  company  F,  of  the  same  regiment.  He  not  only  abused  the  men 
as  a  parcel  of  horse  thieves  and  sooundrels,  but  took  their  boots  and 
hats  -Tom  them  and  threw  them  away  in  their  presence.  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Hanson  also  came  up  a  short  time  afterwards,  and  took  from 
one  of  the  parties  some  crackers  and  cheese,  which  he  had  been  allowed 
by  the  sergeant  to  purchase. 

In  a  few  days  afterwards  Lieutenant  Colonel  Hanson  was  ordered 
to  Louisville  to  do  provost  duty,  relieving  Lieuter>ant  Colonel  Sterritt, 
of  the  twenty. fifth  Michigan  volunteer  infantry,  who  was  ordered  to 
the  field.     He  and  hi.s  regiment  are  still  on  duty  there. 

On  the  26th  July,  Brigadier  General  Morgan  and  most  of  his 
officers  were  captured.  They  were  carried  to  Cincinnati,  and  from 
thence  he  and  twenty-eightiOf  his  officers  were  selected  and  carried  to 
Columbus,  Ohio,  where  they  were  shaved  and  their  haircut  very  close 
by  a  negro  convict.  They  were  then  marched  to  the  bath  room  and 
scrubbed,  and  from  there  to  their  cells,  where  they  were  locked  up. 
The  Federal  papers  published,  with  great  delight,  a  minute  account  of 
the  whole  proceedings.  Seven  days  afterwards,  forty-t^o  more  of 
General  Morgan's  officers  were  conveyed,  from  Johnson's  Island  to  the 
penicontiar}'-.  and  subjectevl  to  the  same  indignities.  I  have  seen 
Colonel  D.  Ilarrard  Smith,  one  of  the  officers  who  was  conveyed  there 
among  the  second  lot,  and  he  told  me  that  Mr.  Men  ion,  the  warden, 
apologized  for  such  treatment;  but  he  had  distinctly  informed  General 
Buruside  that  he  would  receive  them  on  no  other  terms,  and  he  had 

sent  them. 

*  v  *         *  *  *  *         *  #      . "  *  * 

Very  respectfully  submi*;ted  by  your  obedient  servant. 

11.  ALSTON, 
Lieutenant  Colond  P.  A.  C.  S. 


COKUESPONDENOE 

Relative  to  the  Deten'im.  of  Siirgeo?is. 


[No.  48.] 
MR.  OULD  TO  LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW. 

RiciiMO.ND,  Va.,  Aim/ 29,  1863. 

Laeut.  CoL  Wm.  IL  Ludlow, 

Agent  of  Exchange  : 

Sir  :  Th6  names  of  several  Confederate  officers,  including  that  of 
Col.  Morchead,  who  were  long  since  declared  exchanged  under  our 
agreements,  appear  upon  one  of  your  recent  rolls.  These  officers 
were  not  delivered  to  us.  1  understand  they  are  detained  •  t  or  near 
Old  Point.  Are  tj^ese  officers  to  be  delivered  to. us  or  not  ?  One  of 
them  is  a  Confederate  surgeon — Dr.  3/! cad.  Do  you  intend  to  retain 
-urj:;eons  ? 

There  is  not  a  single  Federal  officer  in  our  custody  who  has  been 
ieclarcd  exchanged,  unless  it  may  be  Rucker;  and  for  him  you  hold 
Dr.  Green.  On  Avhat  pretence  are  these  officers  held?  I  will  be 
jbliged  to  you,  if  you  will  inform  me  what  course  you  intend  to 
pursue  in  reference  to  such  cases. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD,  Agent  (f  Exchange. 


[No    49 ] 

LIUT.  COL.  LUDLOW  TO  MR.  OULD. 

Headquarters  Department  of  Virginia,  7th  Army  Corps,      ) 

Fort  Monroe,  June  9,  1SG3.  J 
Hon.  Robert  Ould, 

Agnit  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners  : 

Sir:   Please  have  ready  for  delivery,  all  our  officers  in  your  hands 

•vho    have   been    declared  exchanged — Spencer    Kellogg    among   the 

lumber.     Deliveries  of  your  officers  declared  exchanged  can  tben  be 

fft'Cted.     I  woul  I  suggest  to  you  that  Dr.  Rucker  be  included.     I 

wry  much  desire  that  all  surgeons  should  be  treated  as  non-com- 


nz 

batants,  and  unconditionally  released.     As  I  have  before  remarked  to 
you,  the  cause  of  humanity  demands  it. 

I  ?;iw  Dr.  Green  at  Fort  Norfolk.     He  is  most  anxious  to  know 
what  is  to  be  his  fate.     Can  you  inform  him  ? 
I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  H.  LUDLOW, 
Lieut.  Col.,  and  Agent  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners. 


[No.  50.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW. 

Confederate  States  of  America,  War  Department,      } 

Iiichm.ond,  Va ,  June  12,  1863.  \ 

Lieut.  Col.  Wm.  H.  Ludlow, 

Agent  of  Exchange : 

Sir  :  Dr.  llucker  is  prosecuted  by  the  State  of  Virginia,  for  offences 
against  her  laws,  for  which  he  had  no  warrant  in  your  own  military 
law  to  commit.  If  you  have  any  such  officer  of  the  Confederate  Statp^ 
in  any  such  position,  even  though  he  may  have  b^en  declared  ex- 
changed by  our  general  agreements,  T  cannot  complain  of  his  retention. 

With  this  proper  limitation,  (-.xteuding  to  only  one  case,  I  am  ready. 
at  any  moment,  to  deliver  you  every  officer   or  man   whom  we  have 
declared  exchanged.     I  do  not  believe  there  are  any  such  in  our  prisons. 
I  have,  however,  caused  diligent  search  to  be  made,  and  if  any  such 
are  discovered,  they  will  be  promptly  delivered  to  you. 

I  hope,  therefore,  you  will  have  all  our  exchanged  officers  and  men 
sent  to  City  Point  immediately.  You  will  find  there  any  of  the  sam'e 
class  whom  1  can  discover.  I  will  be  thankful  to  you  for  any  names 
which  you  may  be  able  to  furnish.  Spencer  Kellogg's  case  is  already 
under  inquiry. 

With  the  limitation  as  to  Dr.  Rucker,  I  am  en'tirely  agreed  to  re- 
lease unconditionally  all  surgeons.     I  agree  with  you,  that  the  cause 
of  humanit.   demands  it,  unless,  indeed,  it  is  shown  that  the  surgeor. 
has  committed  offences  which  prove  him  to  be  a  savage  a.nd  a  beast. 
Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD,  Agent  of  Exchange. 


123 

[No.'si.] 

LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW  TO  MR.  OULD. 

Headquarters  Department  ok  ViRGiNfA,  7th.  Army  Corps, 

Fort  Monror,J\ir\c  14,  1863. 

IJon.    1    OHK.RT  OuLD, 

Age7if  for  Exchange  : 
Sir:    Dr.  Green  Avill  be  retained  as  ;i  hostage  for  Dr.  Ruckcr.     All 
other  stirt^eons  in  our  custody  (three  or  four  now  being  here)  •will  be 
released  and  delivered  to  you,  on  tlie  release  and  delivery  to  me  of  all 
you  hold,  except  Dr.  Kucker. 

Do  you  agree  to  this,  with  tlio  additional  understanding  that  the 
detentions  of  surgeons  shall  be  confined  to  these,  two  ?    . 

Please  inform  me  when   Spencer  Kellogg, uind  other  of  our  officers 
declar 'd  exchanged,  will  be  delivered  at  City  Point,  in  order  that  ar- 
rangements   may  be   made  for  sending    up   such  of  your-  exchangeil 
officers  as  are  at  Fort  Norfolk  awaiting  delivery. 
I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WM  U.  LUDLOW, 
Lieut.  Col.,  and  Agent  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners. 


[No.  52.] 

LIEUT.  OOL.  LUDLOW  TO  MR.  oULD. 

HRApqi:  Rir.Rs  1.>ep't  of  Va.,  Itu  Army  Corps,      ) 
Fort  Monroe,  June  ISth,  I8(i3.  \ 

lion.   RORERT  OuLD, 

Agent  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners  : 

Slit:  I  send  to  you  Col.  Moorhead  and  Captain  Flint,  who  have 
been  declared  exchanged.  .\lso,  all  the  Surgeons  we  have  here,  ex- 
cepting Dr.  Green. 

Capt.  Mulford  is  instructed  to  bring  back  Col  Moorhead,  unless 
Spencer  Kellogg,  decbired  exchanged,  be  delivered,  if  in  Richmond, 
or  if  he  be  not,  unless  you  give  an  agreement  that  Kellogg  shall  be 
delivered  at  City  Point  within  two  weeks. 

Capt.  Mulford  is  also  instructed  to  bring  back  the  Surgeons,  unless 
he  receives  all  our  Surgeons  now  confined  in  Richmond,  except  Dr. 
Rucker;  whom  you  retain  under  charges,  and  for  whom  Dr.  Green  is 
held  as  a  hostnjre. 

I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

W.M    H.  LU-DL(>W, 
Lieuf.  Col.,  and  Agent  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners^ 


124 


Airong  th(?  Surgeons  retained  by  you,  are   Dr.    Spencer,   assistant 
surgeon  of  the  7od  Indiana;  also,  Dr.  Myers,  U.  S.  N. 

W.  II. 'L. 


[No.  53.] 
MR.  OULD  TO  LIEUT.  COE.  LUDLOW. 

CoNFEDERAT«  StATES  OF  AmERICA,  ^ 

•  War  De^^arfment,       > 

Richmond,  Va.,  June  28d,  1863.  5 
Lieut,  Col.  Wm.  II.  Ludlow, 

*  Agent  of  Exchange  : 

Sir:  The  grounds  upon  which  Dr.  Rucker  has  been  retained  h-ave 
already  been  very  fully  communicated  to  you.  Jle  has  been  indicted 
by  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia  for  offences  committed  within  her 
limits,  Avhich  are  not  sanctioned  by  any  civili/icd  military  code!  He 
was  not  under  the  protection  of  a  soldier  when  he  committed  the 
felonies  charged  against  him.  The  State  is  now  prosecuting  him  for 
these  crimes,  and.  his  trial  has  been  delayed  for  two  terms  of  the 
Court,  at  his  own  instance."  as  I  am  informed. 

You  hav3  said  to  me  that  the  principles  announced  in  general 
order  No.  lOD,  are  to  apply  ijgiiinst  you  as  well  as  for  you.  In  that 
order  you  distinctly  recognize  the  right  of  an  invaded  State  to  punish 
all  wanton  violence  committed  agiinst  its  citivions,  as  well  as  all  des- 
Irucrion  of  property  not  commamled  by  the  authorized  officer.  I  refer 
you  to  paragraphs  44,  47  and  e;pecialjy  59,  If  I  had  the  framing  of 
a  pi'ovision  to  meet  Dr.  Rucker's  case  and  to  justify  his  detention,  I. 
could  not  use  apter  terms  than  tliose  employed  in  paragraph  51. 

Moreover,  you  have  claimed  and  exercised  the  right  of  holding 
many  of  our  officers  and  soldiers  on  mere  suspicion,  for  months,  with- 
out trial  or  proceedings  of  any  sort  against  them.  You  have  such  in 
confinement  now.  For  them,  we  have  selected  none  of  your  officers 
or  soldiers  in  retaliation.  Yet,  when  we  retain  the  first  of  yours, 
under  indictment  preferred  by  a  grand  jury,  you  immediately  select 
one  of  ours  in  retaliation.  If  we  had  applied  any  such  rule  to  you 
sinco  the  beginning  of  the  war,  how  many  of  your  officers  and  soldiers 
would  be  now  in  our  prisons? 

I  lament  with  you  the  detention  of  surgeons.  I  am  willing  to  do 
anything  consistent  with  honor  and  justice  to  promote  their  discharge. 
But  we  cannot  suri*ender  a  clear  right.  Dr.  Rucker's  detention  is 
justified  by  your  own  principles  and  practice.  I  have  already  admit- 
ted your  right  to  detain  any  one  of  our  officers  under  similar  circum- 
stances. 

If  we  are  justified  by  the  rules  of  war  in  detaining  for  trial  Dr. 
Rucker,  what  right  have  you  to  hold  Dr.  Green  in  retaliation  ? 

Your  request  for  the  discharge  of  all  surgeons,  except  Drs.  Rukcr 


U3 


and  Green,  is  simply  asking  me  to  admit  that  the  former  is  unjustly 
detained,  and  the  latter  rightly  held  in  retaliation.  I  deny  both,  and 
appeal  to  your  own  military  laws.  As  Dr.  Rucker  has  asked  to  have 
his  trial  p<>spone<i.  let  his  case  rcmran  as  it  is,  jind  let  us  uncondi- 
tionally release  mII  other  surgeons  on  both  sides.  If  any  gran:1  jury 
of  yours  indicts  any  surgeon,  or  other  officer  of  ours  for  such  ofi'onces 
as  are  charged  jigijinst  Dr.  llucker,  and  he  is  detiiued  for  trial,  1  ata 
sure  I  ^vill  not  e()r.ipl!un. 

Rosppctfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ROBEKT  OULD,  Agent  of  Exchavge. 


[No.  U.] 

LIEUT.  COL.  LUDLOW  TO  MR  OULD. 

lln.vDQUAnTERS,  Dkp't.  OF  Vv.,  7ti!  Ahmv  Uonrs,      ^ 
Fort  Monroe.  Juhj  12,  !86S.  S 
Hon.  Robert  Our.n, 

Agtnt  foi-  Exchange  of  Prisoners.: 
Sir  :  As  undez-itood  by  me,  Dr.  Rucker  s  alleged  oiTence?  vere 
committed  in  west  Virginia,  within  the  territorj^  uiili'.a'-iJy  occupied 
at  the  time  by  the  troops  of  the  United  States.  If  so,  by  the  laws 
and  usages  of  war,  your  authorities  have  no  jurisdiction  in  hif  case. 
If  you  will  release  all  our  medical  officer.s,  exct^pt  Dr  Rucker,  J 
will  semi  to  -you  all  we  hold,  except  one,  to  be  retained  as  ■■'.  liostago 
for  Dr.  Hucker,  who  will  be  released  wlien  Dr.  Rucker  is  released. 

If  it  should  be  found  that  Dr.  Rucker  is  properly  retained  under 
the  cartel,  or  found  guilty  and  punished  according  to  the  laws  and 
usages  of  war,  the  hostages  will  be  given  up.  But,  if  improperly  re- 
tained and  j  unished,  retaliation  will  be  resorted  to 

You  have  some  Chaplains  in  your  hands.      Will  yoi  dclivor  them  ? 
Please  send  n  plies  to  the  above  by  this  flag  of  truce. 
J  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

^^M.  H    LUDLOW, 
Lirut.  Col.y  and  Agent  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners. 


[No.  55.3 
MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN    MEREDITH. 

CONFEDEUATF.  StaTCH  OF  AmERICA,   WaR   DEPARTMENT,         } 

Richmond,  Va.,  August  16,  1863.  S 
Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  MERtniTH, 

Agent  of  Exchange : 
Sir  :  I  respectfully  call  your  attenticr.   to  the  correspondence  be- 
tween liiout.  Col.  Ludlow  and  rayeelf,   in  rei%tion  to  Dr.  Rucker  and 


the  detention  of  surgeons,  and  especially  to  my  communication  of  the 
23d  of  June  last.  Lieut.  Col,  Ludlow,  in  his  reply,  bearing  date  July 
12,  1863,  says:  '*  As  understood  by  me,  Dr.  Rucker's alleged  offences 
were  committed  in  west  Virginia,  within  the  teriitory  militarily  occu- 
pied at  the  time  by  the  troops  of  the  United  States.  If  so,  by  the  laws 
and  usages  of  war,  your  authorities  have  no  jurisdiction  in  the  case." 

Parngragh  o9,  of  your  general  order  No.  100,  does  not  make  the 
distinction  of  military  occup-ation  suggested  by  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow. 
It  says,  "  a  prisoner  of  war  remains  ^answerable  for  his  crimes  com- 
mitted against  the  captor's  army  or  people,  committed  before  he  was 
captured,  and  for  which  he  has  not  been  punished  by  his  own  authori- 
ties." Any  construction  which  woul i  not  include  such  *'  crimes"  as 
are  committed  v/ithin  the  ten  itorv  militarily  occupied  by  the  army  to 
which  the  offender  belongs,  would  leave  the  provision  almost  without 
any  meaning.  In  Dr.  Huckor's  case,  however,  the  distinction  is  with- 
out avail.  I  have  delayed  thus  long  in  answering  Lieut.  Col.  Lud- 
low's communication  of  the  liZth  ultimo,  in  order  that  I  might  obtain 
•accurate  information  as  to  the  facts  in  the  case. 

He  is  indicted  for  murder,  committed  on  the  33d  July,  1861,  upon 
a  citizen  of  Virginia,  in  Covington,  Alleghany  county,  Va.  ^At  that 
time  no  Federal  force  wa.s  there,  or  ever  had  been.  The  United  States 
forces  did  t:ot  invade  that  county,  or  region  of  country,  until  May,  1 862. 

He  is  aUo  indicted  for  stealing  a  horse  in  January,  18G2. 

He  is  moreover  charged  with  other  offences,  committed  while  the 
l-'ederal  forces  were  in  the  county. 

Whatever,  therefore,  may  be  the  construction  placed  upon  tliegene- 
eral  order,  so  far  as  military  occupation  is  concerned,  Dr.  Rucker's  case 
i.s  certainly  embraced  within  the  provisions  of  paragraph  59. 

I  aiii  also  reliably  informed  that,  at  the  time  of  at  least  some  of  the 
offences  charged  against  him,  Dr.  Rucker  had  no  connection  with  your 
army.  It  Avill  hardly  be  contended,  I  suppo.se,  that  immanity  for 
crimes  already  committed,  can  be  purchased  by  joining  the  forces  of 
un  invading  army. 

The  correspondence  between  Lieut.  Col.  Ludlow  and  myself  seem.'- 
to  indicate  that  the  only  hindrance  to  the  immediate  and  unconditional 
r*dease  of  all  surgeons,  i^  to  be  found  in  the  detention  of  Dr.  Rucker; 
and  further,  if  such  detention  could  hnd  its  justification  in  your  gene- 
ral orders,  even  that  hindrance  would  be  removed.  I  therefore,  bring 
to- your  attention  the  foregoing  facts,  drawn  from  the  indictment? 
against  Dr.  Rucker,  by  which  it  very  clearly  appears  that  he  is  right- 
fully held,  and,  therefore,  Dr.  Green  wrongfully  detained  in  retaliation. 

I  accordingly  renew  to  you  the  proposition  heretofore  made  by  me, 
that  all  surgeons  now  held  on  both  sides,  with  the  exception  of  Dr. 
Rucker,  be  released  without  delay.  I  have  no  objection  to  extend  the 
proposition  to  nurses  and  members  of  sanitary  commissions.  I  would, 
however,  much  prefer  that  it  should  embrace  all  non-combatant'?. 

I  will  be  much  obliged  to  you  if  yon  give  me  an  early  specific  re.  ly 
•o  the  propositions  herein  contained. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RO,  OULD,  Agent  ff  Exchange. 


127 

[No.  56.] 

BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH  TO  MR.  OULD. 

tlEADftUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  VlRGINIA,  7tH  ArMT  CoRPS,         ) 

•  Fort  Morjoe,  Sep-  30,  1863.  \ 
IloD.  Robert  Ould, 

Agent  of  Exchange,  Ridhmond,  Va.: 

Sir  :  In  the  hope  that  the  oflScers  of  the  medical  (lepartment,  on 
both  sides,  may  be  mutually  released,  who  are  now  hold  as  prisoners, 
L  offer  to  you  the  following  proposition:  "That  all  persons  of  the 
nodical  departments,  distinctly  known  as  such,  held  as  prisoners  on 
I  ither  side,  shall  be  discharged,  irrespective  of  numbers." 

K  you  will  not  agree  to  the  above,  1  propose  that  "  all  shall  be  dis- 
'Hargod,  except  one  or  more  designated  persons,  for  whom  equivalents 
jay  be  retained  by  the  opposite  party.  We  designate  no  one  for  eX" 
:«ption." 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  A.  MEREDITH, 
Brig.  Grn.^and  Commissioner  for  Exchange  ^ 


[No.  57.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

C.   S.  A.,  War  Department,      7  ' 
Richmond,  Fa.,  Oct.  2,  1-863.  ) 
iJrig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Age7it  of  Exchange  : 
Sir  :  Your  proposition  of  the  SOth  ultimo,  to  wit,  "  that  all  persons 
of  the  medical  departments,  distinctly  known  as  such,  hold  as  prison- 
ers on  either  side,  shall  be  discharged,  irrespective  of  numbers."  is 
-ubstantially  a  proposition  that  the  Confederate  authorities  shall  de- 
ver  to  you  Dr.  Wm.  Ruckor,  who  is  now  in  the  custody  of  the  State 
t'  Virginia,  for  crimes  committed  before  he  had  any  connection  with 
ihe  Federal  army.     If  it  does  not  mean  that,  I  will  agree   to  it  most 
cheerfully.     If  it  does,  I  cannot. 

Your  alternative  proposition,  that  "all  shall  be  discharged,  except 
one  or  more  designated  persons,  for  whom  equivalents  may  be  retained 
by  the  opposite  party,"  is  the  old  demand  that  we  should  consent  to 
the  retention  of  Dr.  Green,  or  some  other  surgeon,  in  retaliation  for 
Dr.  Wm.  Rucker.  To  that  I  cannot  agree.  We  are  either  right  or 
wrong  in  the  retention  of  Rucker.  If  right,  you  ought  not  to  hold 
\i\  equivalent.  If  wrong,  Rucker  should  be  delivered  up.  In  no 
aspect  of  the  case  should  Dr.  Green,  or  any  other  equivalent,  be 
etaindd. 


128 

In  my  communication  to  you  of  August  16,  last,  I  went  very  fully 
into  the  ease  of  Dr.  Rucker.  Can  a  single  statement  therein  con- 
tained,  be  successfully  controverted  ?  If  not,  upon  what  grounds  can 
you  deny  our  right  to  hold  and  try  him  ?  I  will  really  be  obliged  to 
you  if  you  -will  show  wherein  I  am  wrong  in  any  of  the  positions  as- 
sumed in  my  communication  of  the  30th  of  August. 

When  you  deny  our  right  to  hold  Dr.  Rucker,  or  contend  for  your 
rifl'ht  to  dctum  a  hostage  for  hira,  am  I  to  understand  you  as  contend- 
ing that  no  officer  on  either  side  is  to  be  hold  on  charges  preferred 
against  him  ? 

If  you  have  any  surgeon  in  confinement,  under  charges,  let  him  be 
retained  and  tried  under  them.  I  will  not  complain,  especially  if  they 
are  preferred  by  a  grand  jury,  as  is  the  case  with  Dr.  Rucker.  I, 
however,  can  never  agree  that  any  surgeon  shall  be  held  as  an  equiv- 
alent or  hostage  for  Dr.  Rucker. 

Some  doubt  has  been  expressed  as  to  whether   Rucker   was    ever 
a  surgeon,  regularly  in  your  service,     ilovr  is  it  as  to  that  ? 
Respectfully,  your  obediejnt  servant, 

RO.  OULD,  Agent  of  Exchange. 


C()RIU>  PON  HENCE 

Relative  to  the  Detenfion  "/'  Person^  captured  on  riviVH  and 

the  Juiih  i^eas. 


[No.  08.1 

BRIG.  GEN.   M'v.?EDlTiI  TO  Mil    OULD. 

Offick     'mmmissionf-r   for  Exch\nge,  ) 

Full  Man  oe,    Fa.,  July  31,    I8G3.  > 
ilon.  Robert  Olld, 

Cimr  for  Exchafge,  c<c  ^  Richmond,    Va.  : 

Srr.  :  On  June  Kith,  1863,  tlio  bfirqae  Texana,  bound  from  Nc^^ 
York  to  New  Orltans,  was  captured  and  liurne<l  by  <;ne  Jamea  Dr,k(j 
and  some  fifteen  others',  uho  were  on  board  the  steamer  Boston,  whit  h 
Bte«nier  they  had  taken  possrii-^ion  of  the  night  b«;fore.  The  pilot  of 
the  To.vana  was  permitted  10  hind,  but  tho  captain  and  crew  voia 
taken  to  Mobile  and  iVom  thtuco  to  Richmond,  where,  ever  since,  tVey 
have  been  confined  in  the  Libl)y  prison. 

The  case  of  these  men  appears  to  me  hard  in  all  its  bearings,  an  ;  1 
■cannot  believe  that  the  authorities  at  Richmond  would  sanction  such 
irregular  pro.^edures,  or  establish  such  ;in  inhuman  precedent, 
were  they  fully  cognizant  of  the  facts  in  the  case.  With  tiis  is  jv 
list  of  these  prisoners,  and  I  hope  you  will  \i>}e  your  beat  endeavo*"* 
•for  their  immediate  release. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  A.  MEREDITH, 
Brig.  Gen.,  and  Commissioner  for  Exchange. 


[No.  59.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

Confederate  States  of  America,  War  Depart.mf.nt.  j 
Richmond,  Va.,  Ang.  1,   1863.  \ 

Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange  : 
Sir  :  I   have   received   your   communication    in    reference    to  tb* 
"captain   and   crew  of  the   barque  Texana."'     In   it,  you    poeak  of 
9 


130 

''irregular  prooof^ares"  ard  <*inh|iman  precedents."  If  you  had  been 
acquainted  with  the  gction  of  your  own  authorities  in  similar  cases, 
you  would  hiirdiy  have  used  8uch  lanj;:;uage. 

I  refer  you  to  the  eever:il  communications  of  mine  to  Lieut.  Col. 
;Luiliow  in  refernce  to  the  detention  of  the  masters  and  pilots  of  Con- 
fc-iierate  stcauiers,  and  espect:^!^^  to  my  endorsement,  dated  June 
S^ih,  upon  his  application  for  the  release  of  the  officers  and  crew  of 
the  stenmer  Emily.  The  "irregular  procedures"  and  "inhuman  pre- 
cedents" are  i;ot  to  be  foar.d  in  tlie  action  of  the  Coi:fcderate  authori- 
ties. The  .elightest  search  will  disclose  them  elsewhere,  however. 
Vou  have  new  in  your  prisons  the  following  : 

Capt.  Floj-d  and  the  other  officers  and  crew  of  the  ferry  boat  De  Soto. 
They  are  in  prison  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  have  been  since  Janu- 
ary last. 

The  officers  and  crew  of  the  schooner  Belle,  captured  last  February 
off  Charleston.      Some  of  the  officers  arc  now  at   Fort  Lafayette. 

The  officers  and  crew  of  the  steamer  Cuba,  captured  off  jJobile, 
last  May.     The  c-iptain  is  at  Key  West  in  piison. 

The  officers  and  crew  of  the  steamer  Emma  Bett,  captured  in  Juno 
..last  in  the  Suiifiower  river.  Mississippi.  They  are  said  to  be  in  Camp 
f  Chase.     They  are  certainly  in  captivity. 

,.'     The  officers  and  crew  of  the  steamer  Brittania,  captured  off  Charles- 
,.ton  in  July,  1883. 

The  officers  and  crew  of  the  schooner  Glide.  The  captain  (Perry) 
vis  at  Fort  Lafcjyette. 

"'     To  convince  you  more  fully  that  the  Confederate  authorities  have 

,co  desire  to  iiiiiiate    -'irregular    procedures"  or  establish   '-inhuman 

■  preedents,"    in    the    ('irection    you    indicate,  I    propose    that   the 

officers  and,  crews  of  all  vcsseh  who  arc  now  held  in  conlinemenL  by 

j  either  the  United  States  or  the  Confederate  States,  be  immediately 

l«{-]eKsed,  equivalents  from  the  army  to    be  given    to    the  party  which 

1)38  the  excess.     This   prnpositioti    practically  tests  who   favors    the 

'"irregular  procedures"  and  "inhuman  precedents." 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

-.'.^ii'^^Ji^-iv-  '■)■      ^^'  OUID,  J  gent  of  Exchange. 


i  j;No.  60l] 
BR'IG;GEN.  MEREDITH  'TO  MR.  OULD 

'        '  OfFJCE  C0M\<fSSr6NEk  FOR  ExCH  >.NGE,         > 

^-  •   ■    \  Fort  Monroe,  Va.,  Sept.  27,  ISGii.S 

Hon.  Robert  Ould,  , ,,,  'v,.\. .'..=,"." 

AgcrJ  pf  Exchange,  Rkhfn&nd'V'd.: 

;,,   Bm  :  I  h«ve  written  to  you  t\yice  in  Vel^tion  to  the  captain  and 
crew  of  the  barque  Texana.     You  say  that'  you  will  release  th^m  if 


131 

•we  will  release  prisoners  of  yours  in  like  circunastances.  We  'lo  not 
know  of  any  p  i-^onors  held  by  m  un«ier  sitnilir  circumstances  ns  the 
crew  of  the  Tex  ma.  If  you  will  refer  spccitically  to  any  such  in  our 
hands  they  shjill  !»e  released. 

Respect  fully,  your  obedient  gervantt  -  -.<>,. 

IS.  A.  MEREDITH, 
Brig.  G<7i.,  and  Commissioner  for  Exchange.  " 


[No   Gl  ] 
MR.  OULD  XO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDiTH. 


CuNFF.DERArE  StATES  OF  AmKRICA,  WaR  DEPARTMENT,         ) 

,  Richmond,  Ta  ,  Sept.  28,  1863.  { 

Brig.  Gon.  S.  A.  Mereoith, 

Agent  of  Exchange. : 

Sir  :  On  the  1st  of.  August  last,  in  reply  to  your  first  communica- 
tion re.'^jjr'cting  the  captain  and  crMf  of  the  barque  Texan  t,  I  gave 
you  a  list  of  six  c;ptur:s  nia  le  by  the  Federal  forces  some  (»r  all  of 
"which  corresponded  with  that  of  the  Texana.  I  refer  you  to  the  letter 
of  August  let.  The  captures  were  either  made  at  sea,  or  in  our 
western  i  ivers.  The  parties  were  engaged  in  either  exterior  or  interior 
commerce.  How  they  differ  from  the  oflficcr.s  and  crew  of  the  Texana. 
I  cannot  conceive.  1  then  made  you  a  pioposition  in  reference  to  :hb- 
release  of  the  oflicors  and  crews  of  all  ves.sc  Is.  who  are  now  Ik II  ill 
confinement  by  either  the  United  Stutes  or  Confederate  States.  You 
have  not  seen  fit  to  accept  it  I  now  make  another  proposal,  to  wit: 
that  the  officers  and  crews  of  all  merchant  vessels,  who  are  now  con- 
fined on  cither  side,  be  imirie<liately  atid  unconditionally  releasea. 
Either  the  proposal  ma<le  in  iny  letter  of  the  21st  ult.,  or  in  this  pte- 
sent  otie,  will  be  acceptable  to  me. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant,  " 

RO.  OULD,  Agent  of  Exchange. 


[No.  G2.] 
BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH  TO  MR.  OULD. 

Office  Commis.^iover  f^r  Excimnoe,  ) 

Fortress  Monroe,  Va.,  OcC.  26,  ISG3.  {. 

Hon.  Robert  Ould, 

Agent  of  Eichonge,  Birhmond,  Va.  .* 

Sir:  Allow  me  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact,  that  the  olfcirs 
tod  crews  of  the  following  named  vessels  are  still  detained  in  southern 


fS2 

prisons.     The?e  captures  w6re  made  in  January  last,  and  the  ofH^ors 
have  been  p.roled  and  exclianged.    Will  you  let  me  know  by  the  next 
fljig  of  truce,  why  they  are  not  released  ? 
U.  S.  nhip  "  Morning  Light." 
U.  S.  schooner  "  Velocity." 
U.  S.  steamer  *'  llarrit  Lane." 

Kespectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  A.  MEREDITH, 
Jjilj.  Gen.,  and  Commhsioner  for  Exchange, 


[No.  63.] 


MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

#' 
RicnMOM),  Oct.  3!,   1SG3. 

Brigadier  General  S.  A.  Meredith, 

Agent  of  Exchange  : 

Sir  :  I  have  just  received  your  letter  of  the  28th  inst.uit,  making 
■inquiry  respecting  *' the  officers  and  crews"  of  the  Morning  Light» 
Velocity  and  Ilatriet  Lane.  You  first  say  they  ''are  .'■  till  detained 
in  souti.ern  prisons,"  You  next  say  *' the  officers  have  bhen  paroled 
and  exdianged."  1  really  cannot  see  how  paroled  and  exchanged 
•  officers  can  "still  be  detained  ^in  southern  prisons."  If  they  have 
been  paroled  and  exchanged,  v/hen  was  it  done  and  by  whom  '!■  If  I 
have  made  any  agieement  as  to  these  parties,  I  will  fulfill  it  to  the 
letter. 

If  the  officers  and  crews  of  those  vessels  are  in  confinement,  they 
sure  there  because  you  refuse  to  release  the  officers  and  crews  of  Con- 
federate vessels.  The  former  are  very  likely  to  remain  in  confine- 
ment until  you  release  the  latter,  unless  I  have  made  eouie  agreement 
which  euiiiles  them  to  a  discharge,  I  am  not  aware  of  having  dune  so, 
llespcctfuUly, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD,  Agent- of  Exchange, 


.COllRESPONDENCE 

Re' alive  to  persons  held  in  confmcm'nt  at  the  Si.uih  under  con- 
viction by  a  court. 


[No.  64  ] 

BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH  TO  MR    OULD. 

FcRT  Monroe,  November  15,  I8G3. 
lion.  Robert  Oulo,  , 

Agent  of  Exchange,  Richmond,  Va.: 

Sir:  I  line  information  which  will  be  relietl  and  acted  upon  as 
nuthciitic,  ufilfss  formally  and  without  lesevve,  dmied,  that  Joseph 
Sherman  and  Edwanl  Ludwich,  of  the  4ih  Maine  infantrj',  were  sent 
to  the  penitentiary  fiom  Botetouit  county,  in  October,  I8G''2,  for  a 
term  of  years,  and  that  Andeison  Crawford,  of  a  Maryland  regiment, 
has  been  sent  to  the  penitetitiary  also,  in  all  three  cr.ses  upon  accusa- 
tions not  recognized  as  criminal  according  to  the  laws  of  war.  A 
reasonable  time  for  receiving  information  from  the  South  will  bo 
allowed,  before  giving  any  sptcial  order.^  in  these  cases. 
Resj.ectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  A.  MEREDITH. 

There  is  no  such  man  as  Crawfori]  in  the  penitentiary,  nor  has  there 
been  such  a  in:in  during  my  official  teim  The  other  persons  named 
are  in  the  prnitcniiary,  under  judgments  of  theciicuit  court  of  Bote- 
tourt, and  there  they  will  remain  during  my  term  ot"  service. 

JOHN  LETCHER. 

November  17,  1863. 


[No.  65.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

C.  S.  A.,  Waw   Dkpv»«tmf.nt,  ) 

llichmond,  Va,,  Nov.  18,  1863.  i 

Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  MF.RF.niTn, 

Agent  of  Exrhavge  :     . 

Sir:   I  herewith  return  to  you  the  indorsement  of  Governor  Letcher 
opoi;  your  communication  of  the   1 5th  instant,  relating  to  Sherman,. 


134 

Ludwick,  and  Crawford.  I  also  enclose  to  you  a  copy  of  the  record  of 
the  trial  and  conviction  of  the  two  first  named,  an<l  a  leittr  from  thd 
superintendent  of  the  penitentijuy.  If  you  will  inform  me  in  what 
State  Anderson  Crawford  was  convicted,  IwillserMjou  a  timilar  copy 
of  the  proceedings  had  in  his  case. 

So  many  recent  and  novel  interpretations  of  the  "  law.-*  of  war  *' 
have  been  delivered,  that  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know,  from  the  teni.r  of 
your  letter,  v.hether  it  is  intended  by  your  authorities  to  contest  the 
right  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia  to  punish  persons  within  her 
jurisdiction  for  felonies.  If.  however,  your  own  getioal  orders  are  to 
have  any  effect,  I  suppose  paragraph  59,  of  general  order,  No  ItlU, 
settles  the  question. 

1  have  very  frankly,  and  at  an  early  day,  responded  to  your 
inquiries.  I  hope  1  am  not  ai-king  too  much,  when  1  n  quest  that  any 
"  special  orders"  which  may  be  issued  in  these  cases,  may  be  promptly 
communicated  to  me. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  GULP, 

Agtid  of  Exchange. 


.<A 


COllRI^SPOXDEXCM  WITH  GEXERAT.  BITGIIOOCK' 


[No.  SG.J  ; 

M[l.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MSREDfTIT. 

Richmond,  Va.,  Oct.  27,  I8G3.      ' 
Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  MERF.nixn,  •         ■ 

Agent  nf  'Exchange : 

Sir  :   I  enclose  to  you  a  Diemoninilum  of  t!;e  parole.'  to  which  I  li  .ve-; 
referre<i    in   Roveral   recent  comtnunioa'ions       Most  of  these  paroles, ' 
you  will   ob-^erve,  are  anteceilt^nt  to  M  vy  23,  1333/    'The  reason  why 
these    piroles   have  not  been  heretofore  charge!,  isi,  that  up  to  July, 
1863,  we    hail  the    at!vr:ritage   of  prisoners  au'l  parol'is.      Not  on"  of; 
these  paroles   'm^  covered  by  any  declaration  of  exchange,  except   the' 
one    lately  made    by  you.      Ftr  no  one  of   them  have  1  received  .iny' 
equivalent.      All  of  them,  since    tlie  date  of  your  general  order  No, 
207,  were  given  in   pursuance  of  a  di- tinct  agreernent   between    the.* 
comnniandt-rs  of  two  opposing  armies.     I  have  vaJwy  other  paroles  i;t', 
my  possess-ion,  but  I  have  only  pie^ented  those  which  are  within  the 
tcnris  of  your  general  orders,  accordin^^  to  their  fespoctive  dite.'^.     i 
underntind    iheie  ;ire   other    paroles  coming  within  the  sime  gen.v.a^', 
orders,  which  were  given  by  your  offi>!ers  an<l  men  on  the  other  ^i  lo' 
of  the  Mississippi  river.      They,  as  yet.  have  not  reached  ine.     Wh.^a 
they  do,  and  when  I  show  they  are  witljin  t"he  .s:op9  of  your  goni'iil, 
orders,  I  will  claim  them.     Otherwise,  I  will  discard  thcui. 

I  have  also  received  other  informal  pandes,  which  1  have  sent  b^cV* 
for  corroctioi.      These  are  also  witliin  the  provisioris  of  your  gene. .'J' 
orders.      When  they  are  rHurned,  1  will  cliiiu  thcio  al-iO. 
Respectfully,  }our  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD,  Agent. of  Exfhangp.     ' 

I 


[No.  G7  ] 

^rAJ.  GEN.  IIITGIICOCK  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

V/'ASniNGTo;<  City,  O.  Ci,  Noo.  1863.      i 
Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Mkredctij, 

Cc-mm'ssionf.r  for  Excfumge  nf  Prisoners  :  I 

Sir:   Your  communicition  of  the  20th  ult.  hai  been  received,  fur-* 
warding  what  "  purports  to  be  a  tabular  8l;Uciaeiit  of  the  iwimber  -if. 


t36 

valid  parole3,"  cliiimed  by  Mr.  Ould.  with  a  copy  of  his  letter  accom- 
paiijiitg  it  to  yourself,  of  the  2!th  ulr. 

This  tabular  statement  covers  a  c!:iiin  to  18,807  paroles  of  Federal 
troops,  without  distinctions  of  grade,  no  officers  or  non-commissioned 
oliijers. being  notioodas  aaiong  the  pri>«one  !^.  The  statement  professes 
to  enuinerate  f<jrty-f'»ur  places  where  captures  were  n^ade,  with  the 
tames  of  captors,  and  d  (tcs  of  capnire-* — the  number  said  to  have 
been  captured  being  ciniel  out  in  figures. 

This  statement  may  include  some  prisoners  captured  and  paroled 
according  to  th-^;  lawfj  of  war,  but  if  so,  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish 
them  by  any  evidence  in^he  statement  itself.  A  few  are  said  to  have 
been  "  receipted  for"  at  Bitun  Rouge,  January  2i,  1863,  and  Feb- 
ruarji  14,  1883,  whicti  ra;iy  be  verified,  and  some  evidences  may  como 
to  liglit  confirtr.ing  the  alleged  captures  by  Generals  Lee,  Bragg,  and, 
possit)ly,  80!iie  others;  but.  on  the  whole,  the  statement  is  unsatis- 
f.ictory,  and  in  its  present  form,  is  regarded  ae  without  credif,  and 
not  entitled  to  conei  leratir.n. 

The  statement  does  not  show,  in  any  one  instance,  by  whom  the 
prisoners  were  received,  or  to  whom,  or  even  where,  they  were  de- 
livered, leaving  it  to  hit  presumed  that  they  were,  for  the  mrs£  part, 
paroled  on  the  instant  of  capture,  without  authority  under  the  cartel, 
in  not  being  '•  reduced  to  actual  posse  sion,"  contrary  to  both  the 
laws  of  war,  as  set  forth  in  order  No,  lilO,  of  1 8' 3,  and  the  provision'? 
of  the  cartel.  Order  No.  KM)  merely  publishes  the  laws  of  war,  and 
the  cartel  is  entirely  in  harmony  with  it. 

The  orders  on  thi-t  su''Ject  sub.sequently  ii^sued,  and  to  which  Mr. 
Oul  1  appeals,  v.'ere  cxprensly  de-^igned  to  give  effect  to  those  laws  and 
to  the  cartel,  and  were  in  no  manner  int 'U'led  to  abrogate,  and  neither 
do  they  abrogate  or  modify  the  one  or  the  other. 

if  the  enemy  wishes.-  in- good  faith,  to  carry  out  the  orders  he  refers 
to,  the  proper  course  would  be  to  issue  simdar  order.^,  and  far  a  like 
purp  ise,  in  which  case  there  mght  be  some  hope  of  a  coaipliance 
^vilh  both  the  cartel  and  the  laws  of  war. 

Mr.  Quid's  effurt  to  have  recognized  certain  paroles  as  valid,  vrhich 
have  been  informally  an;l  improperl  •  ui:vde,  embracing,  so  far  as  wo_ 
can  know  from  his  statements,  many  citizzn^  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
and  elsewhere,  (no  particular  placijd  being  named  in  some  instance.^,) 
by  appealing  to  northern  orders,  is  a  mere  perversion  of  the  clear  and 
manifest  design  of  those  orders,  that  design  being,  as  already  stated, 
to  enforce,  and  not  to  nullify  the  laws  of  war.  We  appeal  to  those 
orders,  and  intend  to  be  guided  by  them,  and  if  the  enemy  would 
assume  them,  and  be  governe.i  by  th^m  al<o.  all  difficulties  on  the 
eubject  of  paroles  would  cease.  By  Mr.  Ould's  irio  le  of  application 
or  nusapplicatiou  of  those  orders,  he  would  use  them  to  destroy,  and 
cot  enforce  the  law8  of  war. 

The  laws  of  war  are  first  in  order,  imposing  obligations  upon  bel- 
ligerents, and  they  continue  to  be  obligatory  up  m  both  partie.s,  unless 
taodihed  by  a  spe  -ial  airreemi'Ut  under  a  cartel,  whijfi,  when  agreed 
upon,  becomes  the  highest  authority  in  all  specified  cases  inclufJed  in 
the  cartel,  le  ivias  the  1  iws  of  war  in  full  operation  m    all  cases  not 


pr'vi.Iol  fir  in  such  Ci»rtel — a  cartel  l)oin<T  anal;i^oii8  to  a.  troaty  of 
comm'r<«,>  t^t^veen  nations,  which  max' modify  the  natuial  i.nvs  of 
tra-le  <>v  ivnamerce,  binding  lioth  par'it'S  'o  the  treaty.  V 

T  ii*  onl  -s  of'a  general  in  the  fiel  1.  or  of  a  ge'nerHl  in-rhici"  of  one 
0*"  1 10  I  cli'-orents,  i-<  only  op(>rativc  within  the  field  of  ihi-  giMierlirs 
coiiinatid,  ;Mid  can  have  no  cff^-ct  to  modify  either  the  Iia-i  of  ^v  ,'r  or 
th  •  [)roviv;  .-ts  of  a  particular  carttd  Such  or<lers  art-  pmi'ly  di-n-ip. 
liun  V  io  '!''  army  where  issued,  and  an  neither  hind  mo  eiKiny.  nor 
cat!  .in  fjH'Miy  appeal  to  th«'m  t<»  justify  hi-i  depirtnre  fnon  or  vi(»l  i- 
t'on  (if,  fn'icr  a  pirtienl.tr  cartel  or  ilie  law.?  of  w.ir  ,A  dv;>ii-iuro 
ft-oai  piu;!i  :in  order  wiihia  the  army  suhject  to  the  autli  ritv  i-^nnig 
th^  ord.'r.  iiiigh'  .'•ubjeet  the  offemler  to  punishment  within  ms  ovvn 
army,  Imt  <oiild  not  be  appealed  to  to  ni.ike  a  parole  viilid,  wnndi.'bv 
the  I  tws  of  war,  or  bv  the  {)rovi.-iions  of  a  particular  cartel,  von!  I  he 
di.->onii(.<l  ;is  not  valid. 

While  we  set  forth  thc?e  piincif)lps  is  binding,  we  deny,  cniphati- 
cally,  than  the  orders  appealed  to  by  Mi-.  Ould  sanction  hi^  d-p-triurc 
fioni  ill-  laws  of  war  or  the  cartel — the  express  purpo--e  of  order  No. 
2()T  (1-6})  being  to  enforce  the  pr<»vi>i<)iis  of  the  existing  tMiw.i.  It 
sets  out  by  an  appeal,  in  paragmph  I.  to  the  cartel,  by  its  .iate  niid 
the  <l;ite  of  the  Older  by  whith  it  wa-s  publi.shed.  the  piovi.ioiir*  of 
whicii  are  (o  be  enforced,  and  ibis  i,-<  ajiain  pet  forwanl  m  pna.-rafdi 
IF.  Order  No.  2!I7  publishes  a  v»'ry  impoitant  law  of  war  in  jcirngraph 
II,  in  announcing  that  "  th  •  obligntions  imposed  by  the  genrr-l  liws 
and  iHMg  •  ..f  xvar  upmi  the  non-coin'»  it  mt  inhabitants  (d"  a  section  of 
country  p  t  ^sed  over  by  an  invadin-j;  army,  cease  when  the  military  oc- 
cupation (  -ises;  and  tiny  pledge  or  pn-.de  given  by  smdi  pe»son>i.  in 
rcL'ird  to  future  service,  is  null  .-md  <.f  no  effect  "  'ihix  par.i-raph  cf 
order  No.  2  I7,  does  not  origimYte.  it  merely  announces  the  biw  dlwar 
on  the  su'.-ect  to  whi(di  it  refers,  bur  it  is  particularly  sigmficarr  in 
yie^v  ni'  t't  ■  probable  cli.ir  cter  of  many  of  liie  parolex  eliinpe«i  as  vnlid 
in  the  ttliiiiir  statement  furnishel  bv  Mr.  Oubl,  in  whi.h.  under' the 
he  1 1  ..f  ••  A  here  captured,"  the  .-tatement  uses  gener  tliti.-s  wnicli  can 
in  no  f.':i  he  received.  Thus,  captnres  are  saiil  to  n.ive  Imtti  made 
in  ••  Ken»!  Ivy  and  Tennessee  ;"  in  'Tennessee;"  in  "  Kentiici<y  ;ind 
Teiine-sev"  (again;)  in  "  Tennes«-ee."  (again;)  in  "  Kentu  ky  and 
Tenners"/'  (a  thir-l  time;)  in  "  B  irlionr  county.  Kentucky.'"  (w-iether 
soldi  Ts  or  citizens  we  eanii  ittell.)  in  '-Western  Virgnii;""in  "Western 
Virginia."  (again;)  in  "  Ilindd  county.  .Mississipj:)i  ;"  in  •' Eastei  n  Vir- 
ginia;' ii  ".Mississippi;'  iti  •' Kentucky  and  Tennessee,"  (f.rr*  the 
fourth  liiii  ',)  Sic. 

In  fi  II'   'li.*  statement   s  wh  ally  infornal  and  with-it  authorHv. 
You  Will  |)lca'-e  furnish  Mr    Ould  a  .ertified  copy  of  this  cominuni- 
^'*'''^"-  Very  respectfully,  )0ur  obedient  servmr. 

E.  A.  1HT(J1I00CK, 
Afij    *>'cn.  Vols,  u'li  Cominisroner  for  the  Exchange  of  Pnsr.iv.r.'i. 

FoiiT  MoNFiofc:,  V..V..  N'lV.  9.  ».SG5. 
A  true  e  py.  S.  A.  MEIIEDI  1  H. '" 

Ijrig.  Gen.  an  I  Commissioner  for  Kxc'in  n^e. 


138 

[No.  Go.] 

MR.  OUL©  TO   BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

C.   S    A.,  War  DF.p<RT-\iE."iT,  ) 

Richmond,  Vc,  Nov.  2!,  1863.  J 
Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredjth, 

Agent  ff  Exchange : 

Sir:  I  have  received  the  Iftter  or'  Goiieral  Ilitcheock  relating  to 
the  meitioTan<liuu  t>f  paroles  which  1  forwanl'-d  lo  you. 

Geiical  Iliicjicock  set*ms  to  h:vve  lui.^approheiiileil  my  pu'.-pose 
eomewiiia  in  i.'en'iirig  youthit  memoraiiduin.  You  requested  a  list 
of  the  paroles  whi.h  1  claimed,  and  the  p.ip<.^r  which  I  sent  to  you  was 
only  intciidod  lo  be  uijderntoud  as  a  memorandum  in  the  way  of  notice 
to  you.  1  did  not  expect  yoii  to  agree  to  recognize  the  piroies  therein 
rerc'ir(<i  to  in  .'■uch  a  general  way,  upon  the  mere  presentation  of  the 
paper.  I'he  evidence  which  supports  that  memorandum  if  paroles  \a 
on  file  in  my  othce.  If  we  could  only  have  agreed  upon  the  principle 
by  whicli  they  should  be  computed  and  a(ijuste«l,  all  the  rest  would 
have  i'een  easy  work.  I  would  have  presented  the  paroles  then  selves 
or  autlieniiciiied  lists  of  then).  The  fact  that  they  were  given,  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  were  given,  the  parties  giving  thfm, 
would  all  appeal'  upon  the  face  of  ti.e  papers  in  proper  f  »rm..  As 
Geneial  lliichcock  seemj?  lo  indicate  a  willingness  to  re-open  this 
matter,  i  will  state  for  his  benefit  frankly,  the  principles  by  which  I 
propose  TO  he  governed. 

1  I  will  not  claim  the  paroles  of  citizens.  All  the  paroles  which 
I  will  produce  will  be  those  of  Federal  .sufaers  in  acitual  service  at  the 
time  of  captrie. 

2.  1  will  fliov/  the  particul-ir  lot-ality  wliere  the  parties  were  cap- 
tured, the  commaii'^  to  which  they  belong,  the  cotiiraand  which 
captured  them,  and  the  precise  date  of  eiich  iranaacti-  n. 

3.  1  will  acrompany  ihe  presentation  with  such  fnll  and  particular 
evidence  as  will  enable  you  to  verify  the  truth  of  the  oa^e  by  your 
owji  re. lords  and  the  statements  of  your  own  oilicers  and  soldiers. 

4.  More  than  thirty  of  the  forty-four  items  in  my  memorandum  are 
cases  of  captures  made  previous  to  the  22<1  May,  I8G3.  It  has  never, 
at  any  time,  been  alleg.-il  thii'  I  h;nl  any  noiij-e  before  that  time  that 
ptiFoling  upon  the  battle  field  was  not  to  b?  permitted.  The  Federal 
authorities  have  charged  again>t  me  paroles  taken  upon  the  battle 
field  up  10  that  date,  and  have  received  «n-edit  for  them,  I  vvoul  1  have 
received  credit  for  these  items  m;iny  months  ago  if  you  had  have  had 
paroles  or  prisotiers  of  ours  to  have  offsetted  against  them.  I  v  ill 
thiink  General  Hitchcock  to  inform  me,  upon  what  principle  he  can 
rejeet  those  thirty-odd  items.  If  he  wants  evidence  that  I  have 
allowed  precisely  simifir  paroles,  I  will  iurnish  it. 

5."  As  'o  suc'i  of  the  paioles  as  were  given  between  the  22d  iM»y, 
ISG3,  and  the  3d  of  i'^\'j,  (the  dtte  of  general  order,  No.  2  )7,)  I  shall 


139 

contend  th;it  they  shall  be  allowed  under  the  provisions  of  paratrvaph 
131,  of  general  order.  No.  Il);».  I  will  a'low  any  similar  paroles 
given  to  you  darin;2;  the  same  period. 

(3.  As  to  all  paroles  given  aftor  the  3d  of  July.  !'=fi3.  I  will  allow 
general  order.  No.  2:17,  to  hive  full  force.  No  paroles  fiom  and  after 
that  date  ine  to  be  valid,  unless  the  p:u-'din<j  is  in  pursuitice  of  the 
agreement  of  the  commanders  of  two  opposin;:;  armies. 

7.  In  my  memorandum  the  officers  an<l  non-commissi  )ned  ofiieera 
ar.'  reduced  to  privates  There  ar.>  but  very  fo'V.  if  any,  com'nissioned 
officers  on  the  lists.  They  have  alreidy  been  exchanged  an  I  «du;'-ked 
off.  -This  !■<  of  itself  proof  thnt  your  authorities  have  hemtofire 
recoirnized  these  paroles.  The  lists  and  pir.jL-s  will  show  the  grade 
of  all  the  parties. 

S.  I  have  been  greatly  misunderstood  by  General  Ilitch'-ock,  if  he 
think-*  I  have  refused  to  be  governed  by  your  general  orlers.  Gen. 
Hitihcoik  says:  '•  we  appeal  to  those  ordeis,  an<l  intend  to  be  gov- 
erned by  them,  and  if  the  enemy  would  assum- them,  and  be  gov<Mued 
by  iheni  mIso.  nil  difficuUievS  on  the  saV-j^'rt  of  paroles  wouM  cea-ie." 
1  li  tvo  HJreiidy  e.xpressed  my  willingness  to  be  governed  by  your  gen- 
eral orders"  on  the  subjoet  of  paroles,"  It  was  my  origi«iil  proposi- 
tion      1  adht-re  to  it  still.     Let.  then,  "all  dillieuliies  cense." 

f).  If  our  present  difficulties  aie  to  cease.  l»^t  nic  for  tSo  s  ike  of 
future  harmony  suggest  that  there  be  some  definitive  moaning  att»ched 
to  tlic  phra«ie  •'commander^  oV  two  opposing  armies."  Who  are  such 
coupMutders  ?  We  can  readily  uiul  rstand  th:it  General  Lee  and  Gen- 
eral Meadt?  are  such.  But  is  General  Tliotms  the  cotumiuder  •  f  one 
of  the  .  p(M(«ing  armies  at  Chattanooga,  or  is  it  General  Gant?  Was 
Gjiie-al  i'.  in'ierton  the  commander  of  an  oppo;-ing  army,  wtien  he 
was  su'>i-'i  to  the  orders  of  General  Johnston  who  was  in  his  iiume- 
diate  ii('::^lil»  ihood  ?  Wis  General  Gardiner  the  cotnm  mdi-r  of  an 
opp  'Sing  :  rmy  at  Port  Hudson  I  It'  so,  iw  liot  every  one  who  holds  a 
acp  irate  (Muiiin  in<l.  su'.h  a  commander  I  Does  size  constitute  an  arniy  ? 
If  a.  Captain  or  Lieutenant  is  on  d-taolieil  s«'rvice,  is  he  :he  comm  inder 
of  an  o(»p  '-ing  army,  and  can  he  be  released  on  pnrole  by  an  agree- 
ment nr«de  with  the  officer  who  caj.tured  him.  if  he  also  is  on  de:aclied 
service?  1  make  these  inquiries  of  General  Hitchcock  innocap'ious 
spirit.  They  do  present  dilfi -ulties  to  my  mintl,  and  I  should  like  to 
kiH)w  what  is  to  be  considered  as  the  true  interpretation  of  the  pluaso. 
All  the  captures  after  the  3d  of  July,  IS();j,  which  I  ask  you  to 
recognize,  were  in  pursuance  of  "an  agreement  between  the  coia- 
njaixlers  of  two  opposing  armies."  I  cannot  see  liow  any  difficulty 
can  arise  between  General  Ili'chcock  and  myself  afcer  his  lefer, 
except  as  to  cap  urqs  between  May  2M,  HGJ,  and  July  3J,  i3G3 
They  are  but  veiy  few  in  nuiuSer. 

I  will  thank  you  to  send  this  letter  or  a  copy  of  it  to  General 
Hitchcock. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULO. 
Agent  of  Exchange. 


140 

[No.  69.] 
INIAJ.  GEN  HITCHCOCK  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  Minil-DITII. 

Washington  Cnv,   Due.   v-Mh,  1883. 

Bii;.^  (nil    S.  A.  Me^^eoitii, 

\))nr  for  Exchange  oj  Prisoners: 

Sii;  I  h.ive  resid  i1k»  copy  yon  forwarded  of  Mr.  OuM':-  r-fMriinunica- 
tiori  <•!  I  e  ;i  Lst  iii.»t  , '.n  which,  I  peri^eive,  Mr.  Oiihl  thii,k>  1  nti-iJiopre- 
hcii  ii<i  lii,^  purpo'it^  in  forwatdint;  the  "tabular  statcin'M  t'  of  alleged 
vain]  |. a. (lies,  made  <  hi.  ily  in  the  West  and  South.  I  .^unpo-u.l  thattho 
tiihu  or  .^intnnint  was  i-ei:t  to  you  in  explanation  of  the  la;t.;rt  number 
of  pM-MM,rs  (h'chired  exchanged  by  Mr.  Ouhl,  the  pru|»t  i.-y  of  v»hich 
had  b<  (11  Vfiy  properly  questioned  by  you.  If  that  wa  ii'jt  jhepur- 
po.-e  111  tJM-  statement,  I  regret  that  it  fell  under  my  in-iice.  If  Mr. 
Oubl  \m!k-s  tiihcr  to  present  another  "stateinenf."  »i-  to  inrnish 
(Jetiilc'  <>[ilanati(ins  of  that  already  before  U3,  it  will  i  i'  t'ine  enough 
to  coii-i  •;:  tiie  points  he  may  raise  when  he  pre.-«ents  i'U' in  In  the 
meani  iiiii-.  I  think  it  necessary  to  observe  that  neither  Mr.  <  )(il.!.  your- 
self, ii'.i  111. self,  have  jioweis  outside  of  the  cartel,  cxcir;:  iho-i- plainly 
necess  H  \  f>!i  the  execu-ion  of  i^s  provisions;  but,  in  tir-!  cnnric'^tion, 
I  nui-i  alfiin>  that  the  iirst  shock  given  to  the  free  ainl  ruitiuued  exe- 
cution ot  the  piovi.'^ions  of  the  curte.l,  came  from  Mi  ])i\i,  in  his 
"ui  S'.igc"  of  the  12th  of  January,  of  the  present  ;  .  •.  'w  whiih  he 
dechiM-s  his  purpose  of  delivery  to  the  several  Sr.ite  ar  .  .iiti(!-<  South, 
all  c-'imn  ssiofied  officer's  of  the  Fe(leral  array  wlio  n.i.:;;:  'i-  cajttured, 
to  !'(•  tiifd.  under  b'fatt*  laws,  for  the  crime  of  excifin:  ■  i'tvi'e  insur- 
re(;  loi.  Tlii-5  htanils  yet  ;'S  the  avowed  purpose  of  tli"  flue"  e.xecu- 
tivi-  of  the  States  engaged  in  the  rebellion.  It  has  noi  iucii  annulled 
in  any  f  nii  whatever,  nor  has  the  act  of  the  southern  i 'oii;jre.-s,  ia 
suj)jt>it  ot  Mr.  Davi^'  views,  been  in  any  manner  rep^.i'l  or-  <iisa- 
\our<i  Without  Inokitig  any  further,  I  appeal  to  tliis  as  a  full  jusci- 
fication  of  the  Federal  commander  in-chief  in  suspetniin;!  the  opera- 
tion (d  that  portion  of  article  four,  of  the  cartel,  which  rft|iiires  "all 
],ris  'iM  I-  of  war  to  be  discharged  on  parole  in  ten  da^  s  afier  their 
capture."  it  being  manifest,  that  tlie  authorities  South  could  not  parole 
prisoi.eis  according  to  the  cartel,  and  carry  out  their  dfilared  [)ur- 
posc  of  <leliveritig  the  otKccrs  over  to  State  authorities  to  h  •  tii.^d  as 
cnniiii  Is  under  State  laws.  Whatever  may  have  been  tin-  lea-on  why 
the  d.ciaied  purpose  of  Mr.  Davis  has  not  been  extensiv  ly  earried 
into  efl  ■ct,  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  that  purpose,  smetioioMJ  as  we 
know  It  to  have  been  is  a  suffi  ient  reason  on  our  part  for  n  it  deliver- 
ing |ii.s!,iers  on  par  li>,  particularly  as  there  is  every  ri-a.  •  n  lo  believe 
that  the  jonpose  of  Mr.  Davis  has  only  been  arrested  i»v  the  fact, 
tha',  I);.  i!if  fortune  of  war,  we  had  in  our  hands  more  firi.s  nu-rs  than 
Were  hel  1  in  the  South.  In  addition  to  the  above,  the  tK-a'tuiuit  of 
colored  tioops,  which  make  an  integral  portion  of  the  F^-'IimmI  army, 
vhen  i.ajjtuied  in  the  South,  is  too   well    known    to   pe 'inic    us   for  a 


141 

moment  to  suppose,  in  the  prepent  state  oT  tliing=<,  that  there  is  nny 
design  in  tin-  S<  uth  to  treat  that  class  of  troops  according  to  the  laws 
of  war,  iipplicalile  to  other  troops  of  the  Fe'loral  army  ;  and  nntjl 
the  southern  anthoritie.s  make  some  distinct  d>'chiration  of  a  purpi>se 
to  trear.  colored  troops  and  their  office;  s,  in  tii»^  employment  of  (ho 
United  Sia'cs  GtMcrnment,  in  all  respects,  accardinu  to  tiie  liw.  t)f 
war,  «3  app'iv-aMe  to  other  troops,  wo  cannot  receilo  from  th"  po-JMon 
taken  l»v  ih  •  c  .minandcr-in-chief  ahove  referre  I  to.  The  \vi«d  >  n  md 
the  neccs.-it^y  nf  <^\i;stinK  orders  en  ihissu'  iocl.  will  suffieieu.ly  <l.-r<'iid 
the  uiea<in\-.  .ii  view  of  the  tkrents  and  prwJces  of  the  South,  wiii  h 
only  nn'l  tu  lie  known  to  justify  thi  i  measure. 

It  is  \CM  V  well  known  that  Colonel  Ludlow  madi;  these  suhjoct-!  the 
frequent.  t'>|ii.-  (»t"  conversation  with  >[r.  Ould,  without  produci.i^i  any 
irapr>  s-ioii  <mi  Mr  Ould,  tending  to  the  point  .'f  imluciug  a  d.-idtn.- 
tion,  by  ant  .  ity,  from  the  South,  that  all  oll'cers  of  tho  Kelt-ral 
army,  as  >^ .  i  ,  -  enlisted  men,  shall  tcceiv'C,  w'imi  captured,  ihe  tte;it- 
ment  <!ui'  (•»  ,;  i^oncrs  of  war,  with  the  express  (L'claration  that  «-.  Ii«.fd 
troops,  boll  ulli-crs  and  men,  shall  receive  similar  tro;timent. 

Yo'i   wi  i    |,'  ..Si-  (•(uaiuuuicate    these   views  to   Mr,    Ould,    "virli    a 
requtct  ihai        a  ill  luy  them  bef)re  his 'jovernuienr, 
\'   i      iX'spectfuUy,  your  oheuient  servant, 

E.   A.   lUTOIICOCK, 
M'jor  Gen.    Vols,  and  Commissioner  fir  Fxchnnge. 


A  true  C(i 


S    A.  MEREDITH, 
Brigadier  Ge'aeral  and  Coram  tssioncr  of  Hxdiange. 


[No.  70.] 
MAJ.  GL      HITCHCOCK  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITTI. 

'  Wasmi.vgton  Citv,  D.  C,  ) 

November  1.'^,  1863.       S 

Brig.  Gen.  S.  .v.  .Mlrf.dith, 

^"lyiindssioner  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners  : 

Sia  :  I  am  u  't  yet  informed  whether  any,  or  how  far,  relief  may 
have  reaclu'd  i.nr  unfortunate  prisoners  of  war  in  Richmond  an<l  its 
vicinity,  under  the  orders  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  to  send  supplies 
to  them  of  both  !ood  and  clothing. 

Meantime,  it  is  proper  and  necessary  that  Mr.  Ould  should  be 
notified,  t  »r  the  information  of  his  Government,  that  whatever  steps 
may  have  been,  or  may  be  taken  thus  to  extend  relief,  must,  on  no 
considerati'-n,  be  appealed  to  by  the  enemy  to  lelieve  him  from  the 
obligation  to  treat  prisoners  of  war  according  to  the  laws  of  civilized 
warfare. 

If,  in  other  words,  our  prisocers  in  Richmond  fail  to  receive  such 


143 

supplies  a=i  the  laws  alike  of  humnnity  and  war  require,  iho.  jnithori- 
ties  i  1  Riflimond  musr,  be  informed,  that  it  will  not  be  c>>ii-^idered  a 
valid  explnnation  or  excuse  far  them  to  nppeal  to  the  fat;t,  should  it 
exi^t,  that  supplies  from  us  have  riot  jeached  them. 

The  action  of  our  Government  in  thi-j  matter  i-:  dicta' od  purely  by 
humanity,  and  is  only  an  effi>rt  to  relieve  our  prisoners  from  suffeiing 
inflicted  upon  thetn  contrary  to  the  claims  of  both  hum-uiiry  and  the 
laws  of  war,  and  mu^^t  not  be  un<lerstootl  us  relieving;  the  authoriiies 
at  Richmond  from  responsibility  to  the  Chri.-tian  world  in  the  pvendsea. 

If  the  autHorities  in  liichmond  will  send  us  these  pri-^oners  we  will 
not  only  feed  and  clothe  them,  buc  will  c  .ntinue  to  supply  .fo(*d  and 
clotliing  us  heretofore  to  such  prif«on<":rs  as  may  be  in  our  pos>ies.-ion  ; 
and  you  will  propose  to  Mr.  Quid,  th-it,  in  this  case,  Wd  will  agree 
without  iiny  reserve,  to  respect  the  pirole  they  rany  give  according  to 
the  laws  of  war,  from  which  ihey  shall  n  >t  be  relieved  in  v;ew  of  p  ist 
dtfTtrences  or  pending  (juestioiis  oti  the  subject  of  exchange,  without 
the  previously  obt  lined  consetst  of  the  auth'^riti^s  reprcseutad  by  Mr. 
Ouhl,  as  a  eat  for  exchanges,  under  the  cartel. 

You  will  please  lose  no  time  iu  coutinunicating  a  copv  of  tiiis  note, 
certilie^i  by  yourt-elf  to  Mr.  Ould,  and  will  urj»e  upon  him  its  accept- 
ance, as  due  to  the  must  solemn  coiibideraiions  in  the  face  of  the 
civilized  wojld. 

Very  refpeetfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

E.  A.  IIITCFICOCK, 
Maj.  Gen,  Vols.,  and  Comniissicner for  Exchange  uf  Fihuntrs. 

Fort  Mo.nroe,  Va.,  AW.  15,  1863. 
A  true  copy. 
S.  A,  MKRtDfiH,  Brig,  Ge?i.  and  Commissioner  for  Exchmi^e. 


[No.  71.] 

MR.  OULD  TO  BRIG.  GEN.  MEREDITH. 

Confederate  States  of  America,  War  Depvrtment,       ) 

Richmond,  Va.,  Nov.  J 8,  1SG3.  \ 

Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredit  ir, 

Agent  of  Exchange : 

Fir  :  The  letter  of  General  Hitchcock  has  been  received. 

Until  the  Confederate  authorities  appeal  to  be  released  "  from  the 
obligation  to  treat  prisoners  of  war  according  to  the  laws  of  civilized 
warfare,"'  or  offer  as  "an  explanation  or  excuse"  for  insuflicient  food 
that  supplies  have  not  feen  forwarded  by  your  -Government,  it  is 
entirely  unnecessary  to  discuss  what  will  be  the  views  of  your 
authorities  in  either  contingency. 

Statements,  most  infamously  false,  have  recently  been  made  and 
circulated  at  the  North,  by  persons  whose  calling  should  have  imposed 


143 

a.  respect  for  truth,  which  their  owq  personal  honor  seems  to  hare 
failed  to  secure.  Our  reguhitions  require  th  it  prisoners  shill  receivie 
the  same  ra'ions  as  soMiers  in  the  field.  Such  your  pri,s:incr.s  have 
received  and  will  continue  to  receive.  Do  you  ask  more?  If  so, 
what  do  you  demand  ?  We  reco^^nize,  in  the  fullest  form,  our  obiigi- 
tion  to  treat  your  prisoners  with  humanity,  and  to  serve  ilieiu  with 
the  same  foo'l,  in  quantity  and  quality,  a^  is  given  to  our  o\*n  sol- 
diers. If  the  Bupply  is  scanty,  you  have  only  to  blame  tlie  sysrem  of 
warfare  you  have  waged  againft  us.  Ther-e  is  nothing  in  tne  action 
of  the  Confederate  Government  which  gives  any  sort  of  conn  enancc 
to  the  charge  of  cruelty  or  inhumanity  to  your  prison  'rs.  In  the 
first,  place,  we  have  importuned  you  to  agree  to  a  fnr  and  honest 
proposition  which  would  secure  the  release  of  all  of  them  When 
that  was  rej'^c'ed,  you  have  been  permitted  to  send,  withouj  stint  or 
Limitation,  all  kinds  of  supplies  to  them. 

General  Hitchcock  reque.-^ts  that  the  prisoners  now  in  our  hands  be 
returned  to  your  lines.  This  is  not  accompanied  with  any  proposition 
to  release  our  prisoners  now  in  your  hands.  So  far  from  that  being  the 
case,  he  promises  '.o  "  contii  ue  to  supply  food  and  clothing  a^  hereto- 
fore" to  such.  General  Hitchcock  need  not  have  urged  you  to  *■  lose 
no  time  in  communicating"  his  letter.  No  degree  of  haste  would  have 
secured  the  assent  of  the  Confederate  authorities  to  a  proposition  so 
flagrantly  unequal.  We  are  ready  to  relieve  your  Govc-nment  from 
the  buithen  of  supfdying  "food  and  clothing  as  heretofire,"  to  our 
pcopb' iu  y  )ur  hundd,  and  if  they  are  sent  to  us,  yours  shall  bo 
returned  to  you — the  excess  on  one  side  or  the  other  to  be  on  parole. 
I  hope  you  will  "urge"  upon  General  Hitchcock  the  acceptmce  of 
this  proposition  "  as  due  to  the  most  solemn  considerations  in  the  face 
of  the  civilized  world."  We  are  content  that  the  "civilized  world*' 
ehoul'l  draw  its  own  conclusions  when  it  contrasts  the  two  ntfers.  I 
will  thank  you  to  forward  this  communication  to  General  Hitchcock, 
or  inf<irin  liiai  that  the  Confederate  authorities  decline  to  accept  hia 
proposition. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RO.  OULD, 
Agoit  of  Exchange. 


[No.  72.] 
GEN.  HITCHCOCK  TO  GEN.  MEREDITH. 


.    WashikgtoxN  CtTv,  D.  C,  Nov.  83d,  1863. 

Brig.  Gen.  S.  A.  Meredith, 

.-.  j. ,,.  ('v.J.  <  .n.i.l;'  Commissioner  for  Exchange  of  Prisoners  : 

Sir  :  Yournote  forwarding  a  copy  of  Mr.  Ould's  letter  of  the  I8th 


\u 

instant,  adkessed  to  yourself,  ns  an  answer  to  ray  letter  of  the  13th, 
has  been  receive!.  Mr.  Quid,  I  perceive,  states  that  our  priioiuM-.i  in 
Richmoriii  receive  **  the  same  rations  as  soldiers  in  the  fiel'l."  aocord- 
inor  to  the  regulations," 

The  '•  refrulations  "  maybe  such  ns  Mr.  Ould  states  thei*  ;'>  1).\  hut 
th^t  oi..  prisoners  receive  '•  rarions"  as  stated,  is  oontr  iih(!te  1  by 
all  of  ihe  viileiice  that  has  reached  me  outside  of  Mr.  r  '  ;  ■^rnrc- 
menf  ;   and  the  evidence   rests  upon  the   statefuents  of  .'^^  -es 

and  of  nctual  suif  rers  umler  the  tieiitinent  received  in  Ri  i.  1  and 

at  Belle  I>le,  besides  the  testimony  of  facts  distdosed  1  >.  \  isiMe 
condition  of  a  di-livery  of  some  one  hundretl    and  ei^lr  ners 

mad(^  ut  Ciry    Pnijit.  many  of  whom    <lied,  bofoie  reacbin  Mon- 

roe, froai  stirv'f.ian,  according  Lo  the  judgment  of  a  coin,  ;   di- 

cal  officfT. 

Up'in  the  evidence  above  stated,  the  Secretary  of  War  '    ap- 

plies to  be  sent  f  >r  the   distri.M.uioii  to  the  remaining  pr'  ,   .  \'n\ 

this  state  of  tliiri;:«  induced   the   letter  of  the  I3ih  instan  u  ' 

to  ri^ccive  on  pirole  the  prisoner.-i,  and  to  hold  them  off  dn  '•'■  ex- 

changed, independently    of  all   exisiing   difficulties  on  th  r      of 

ox(diapge 

INlr.  Oald  declines  this  offer  and  proposes  that,  if  wo  v  !:  ,  ,  i  ]  to 
the  South  tiie  pri-oners  in  our  han<l»,  they  wijl  send  ours  .,  :  '•  the 
excess  on  one  side  or  the  other  to  be  on  parole  " 

Whatever  appearance  of  verbal  fairness  there  may  b  «.  '  ,  .  the 
conduct  of  Ml-.  Ould,  in  connection  with  recent  declara'i  c  of'  ex- 
change, will  not  permit  ns  to  regard  this  proposal  as  midy  in  good 
faith   and  v.e  cannot  rely  upon  its  being  carried  out  by  the  euemy. 

In  tb'^  first  place,  the  proclamation  of  Mr.  Davis,  and  o'iti<rr  public 
acti  of  those  in  power  in  the  South,  remain  in  full  force,  so  far  as  we 
know,  and  are  actually  being  enforced  in  the  South,  by  which  di.-tihctioa 
is  made  between  classes  of  troops  employed  by  the  United  Stated  and 
officcrr.,  serving  with  colored  troops,  if  t^ken  prisoners,  do  not  receive 
and  arc  not  to  receive  the  treatment  due  to  prisoners  of  war,  whilst 
the  enlisted  men  of  colored  troops,  when  taken  prisoners,  it  h'tis  been 
puhncly  declared,  shall  be  sold  into  slavery. 

That  this  distinction  is  made  actual,  in  the  treatment  of  priponera 
of  war,  we  know  in  some  cases,  and  have  much  reason  to  apprehend 
it  in  others,  which  have  not  been  permitted  to  see  the  light.  V/-  have 
positive  information  of  the  fact,  that  two  colored  seamen  of  the  United 
States  marine  were  captured  near  Charleston,  and  were  not  treated  as 
prisrmers  of  war. 

Two  free  colored  young  men,  with  a  Massachusetts  regiment,  were 
captured  near  Galveston  and  publicly  sold  into  slavery. 

In  a  recent  case  I  made  a  proposal  to  release,  mutually,  all  chap- 
lains ;  and  the  proposal  was  *'  cheerfully  accepted ;"  but,  Ithough 
we  delivered  about  or  more  than  twice  the  number  we  receivod,  the 
enemy  held  bacl"  the  chaplain  of  a  Massachusetts  colored  reguneiit  who 
was  confined  and  in  irons  at  Columbia,  S.  C. 

In  oddition  to  these  facts,  Mr,  Ould,  not  long  since,  declared  that  he 
would  proceed  to  make  declarations  of  exchange  whenever  ho  con- 


145 


scientiously  felt  that  he  had  the  right  to  do  so,  for  the  purpose  of 
putting  mon  into  the  field. 

If  this  announcernont  means  anything  at  all,  it  means  that  the 
usages  of  war,  and  the  express  provisions  of  the  cartel,  are  subordi- 
nate to  the  individaal  determination  ami  purposes  of  Mr.  Ould  on  the 
subject  of  declarations  of  exchange  ;  and,  as  a  consequence,  we  must 
suppose  that  if  Mr.  Ould  can  obtain  possession  of  the  ''  excess  "  of 
prisoners,  now  in  our  possession,  he  will  "proceed"  to  declare  them 
exchanged,  and  put  them  into  the  field,  upon  what  he  might  allege  as 
his  sense  of  right.  When  called  upon  for  an  explanntion  he  would 
prepare  what  he  might  call  a  *'  tabular  statement  of  paroles,"  as  he 
recently  did,  made  up  from  guerilla  captures  of  citizens  in  remote 
parts  of  the  country,  set  down  as  captured  at  such  places  as  Kentucky, 
as  Tennessee,  as  Mississippi,  or  at  such  a  place  as  Kenf.ucki/  and  Tennes- 
see, not  in  any  instance  i>roperly  reporting  to  whom  delivered,  Mr. 
Ould  has  shown  the  latitudiiiarian  construction  he  puts  upon  his  pow- 
ers, and  the  nature  of  his  sense  of  rig/it,  by  writing  a  letter  on  the  lOtli 
of  Oct.  which  he  has  not  thought  it  necessary  to  communicate  to  us, 
but  which  has  been  published  in  a  Riclniiond  paper,  by  which  he  took 
upon  himself  the  power  to  declare  that  the  whole  number  of  men  de- 
livered by  General  Banks,  at  Mobile,  embracing  several  thousand  men, 
captured  at  Port  Hudson,  were  under  no  obligation  to  preserve  their 
parole. 

Mr,  Ould  has  been  a  mere  agent  unJer  the  cartel,  and  when  a 
question  comes  up  as  to  the  import  of  the  cartel,  its  meaning,  &c,, 
Mr,  Ould  has  no  power  to  decide  the  question,  for  that  belongs  to  the 
parties  by  whose  authority  the  cartel  was  made. 

The  cartel  provided  two  places  for  the  delivery  of  prisoners  of  war, 
City  Point  and  Vicksburg;  but  it  provided,  also,  that  when  these 
places,  or  either  of  them,  should  become  unavailable  by  the  exigencies 
of  war,  some  other  point  might  be  agreed  upon, 

VicksbVirg,  having  fallen  into  our  hands,  became  unavailable,  as 
contemplated  by  the  cartel,  and  Gen.  Banks  agreed  with  the  rebel 
commander  in  the  field  that  Gen.  Banks  would  deliver  the  Port 
Hudson  prisoners  on  parole,  and  they  were  delivered  accordingly. 

Mr,  Ould  knew  that  those  men  were  unconditionally  in  the  hands 
of  Gen.  Banks,  They  had  been  ''reduced  to  possesion,"  and  had  been 
taken  to  New  Orleans,  and  might  have  been  sent  north,  if  Gen.  Banks, 
had  pleased.  Instead  of  sending  them  to  the  North  to  swell  the 
number  of  prisoners  of  war,  in  our  hands  at  the  North,  Gen.  Banks 
confided  in  the  honor  of  a  rebel  commander,  and  "agreed"  to  parolo 
those  men  at  Mobile,  Vicksburg  being  by  the  exigencies  of  war,  no 
longer  available  as  n  place  of  delivery. 

In  that  state  of  things  Mr.  Ou'd  takes  upon  himself  to  decide  that 
the  delivery  at  Mobile  was  invalid,  that  place  not  being  named  iu  tho 
cartel  for  the  delivery  of  prisoners. 

With  a  sense  of  right  so  obtuse,  as  this  act  indicates,  it  is  doing  no 

injustice  to  Mr,  Ould  to  say  that  we  cannot  confide  in  any  pledge  he 

would  make  to  carry  out  a  special  agreement,  and  we  must  accordingly 

decline  to  acquiesce  in  any  measure  which  would  throw  into  his  hands 

10 


146 

a  large  body  of  prisoners  of  war  under  parole,  to  be  by  him  released 
from  its  obligations  according  to  his  sense  of  right. 

You  will  understand  from  the  above  statements  that  Mr,  Quid's 
decision  touching  the  prisoners  delivered  by  Gen.  Bunks,  is  not 
recognized  as  justifiable  or  valid,  and  that  we  claim,  that  they  are  still 
prisoners  of  war  on  parole. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

E.  A.  HITCHCOCK, 
Maj,  Gen,  of  Vol.,  and  Com  r  for  Exchange  of  Prlsamrs. 


THE    CARTEL. 


[No.  73.] 

IIax.vll's  LvNorNG,  on  James  River,  > 
July  22,  1863.      l 

The  undersigned  having  been  commissioned  by  the  authorities  they 
respectively  represent,  to  make  arrangements  for  a  general  exchange 
of  prisoners  of  war,  have  agreed  to  the  following  articles  : 

Article  I.  It  is  hereby  agreed  and  stipulated,  that  all  prisoners  of 
war  held  by  either  party,  including  those  taken  on  private  armed 
vessels,  known  as  privateers,  shall  be  exchanged  upon  the  conditions 
and  terms  following  : 

Prisoners  to  be  exchanged  man  for  man  and  ofliccr  for  officer ; 
privateers  to  be  placed  upon  the  footing  of  officers  and  men  of  the 
navy. 

Men  and  officers  of  lower  grades,  may  be  exchanged  for  officers  of 
a  higher  grade  and  men  and  officers  of  different  services,  may  be  ex-\ 
changed  according  to  the  following  scale  of  equivalents. 

A  general  commanding  in  chief,  or  an  admiral,  shall  be  exchanged 
for  officers  of  equal  rank  or  for  sixty  privates  or  common  seamen. 

A  flag  officer  or  major  general  shall  be  exchanged  for  officers  of 
equal  rank  or  for  forty  privates  or  common  seamen. 

A  commodore,  carr^'ing  a  broad  pennant,  or  a  brigadier  general  shall 
be  exchanged  for  officers  of  equal  rank  or  twenty  privates  or  common 
seamen. 

A  captain  in  the  navy  or  a  colonel,  shall  be  exchanged  for  officers 
of  equal  rank  or  for  fifteen  privates  or  common  seamen.     " 

A  lieutenant  colonel  or  a  commander  in  the  navy,  shall  be  ex- 
changed for  officers  of  equal  rank  or  for  ten  privates  or  common  sea- 
men. 

A  lieutenant  commander  or  a  major,  shall  be  exchange  for  officers 
of  equal  rank  or  eight  privates  or  common  seamen. 

A  lieutenant  or  a  master  in  the  navy  or  a  captain  in  the  army  or 
marines,  shall  be  exchanged  for  officers  of  equal  rank  or  six  pijivates 
or  common  seamen. 


148 

Master's  mates  in  the  navy,  or  lieutenants  and  ensigns  in  the  army, 
shall  be  exchanged  for  officers  of  equal  rank  or  four  privates  or  com- 
mon seamen. 

Midshipmen,  warrant  officers  in  the  navy,  masters  of  merchant  ves- 
sels and  commanders  of  privateers,  shall  be  exchanged  for  officers  of 
equal  rank  or  three  privates  or  common  seamen  ;  second  captains, 
lieutenants  or  mates  of  merchant  vessels  or  privateers  and  all  petty 
officers  in  the  navy  and  all  non-commissioned  officers  in  the  army  or 
marines,  shall  be  severally  exchanged  for  persons  of  equal  rank  or  for 
two  privates  or  common  seamen  ;  and  private  soldiers  or  common  sea 
men,  shall  be  exchanged  for  each  other,  man  for  man. 

Article  2.  Local,  state,  civil  and  militia  rank  held  by  persons  not 
in^actual  military  service,  will  not  beredcgnized  ;  the  basis  of  exchange 
being  the  grade  actually  held  in  the  naval  and  military  service  of  the 
respective  parties. 

Article  3.  If  citizens  held  by  either  party  on  charges  of  disloy- 
alty or  any  alleged  civil  offence  are  exchanged,  it  shall  only  be  for 
citizens.  Captured  sutlers,  teamsters,  and  all  civilians  in  the  actual 
service  of  either  party  to  be  exchanged  for, persons  in  similar  position. 

Article  4,  All  prisoners  of  war  to  be  discharged  on  parole  in  ten 
days  after  their  capture,  and  the  prisoners  now  held  and  those  here- 
after taken  to  be  transported  to  the  points  mutually  agreed  upon,  at 
the  expense  of  the  capturing  party.  The  surplus  -prisoners,  not 
exchanged,  shall  not  be  permitted  to  take  up  arms  again,  nor  to  serve 
as  military  police,  or  constabulary  force  in  any  fort,  garrison,  or  fields 
work,  held  by  either  of  the  respective  parties,  nor  as  guards  of 
prisons,  depots,  or  .stores,  nor  to  discharge  any  duty  usually  performed 
by  soldiers,  until  exchanged  under  the  provisions  of  this  cartel.  The 
exchange  is  not  to  be  considered  complete  until  the  officer  or  soldier 
exchanged  for  has  been  actually  restored  to  the  lines  to  which  he 
belongs. 

Article  5,  Ei.cli  party,  upon  the  discharge  of  prisoners  of  the 
other  party,  is  authorized  to  discharge  an  equal  number  of  their  own 
officers  or  men  from  parole,  furnishing  at  the  same  time  to  the  other 
party  a  list  of  their  prisoners  discharged,  and  of  their  own  officers 
and  men  relieved  from  parole;  thus  enabling  each  party  to  relieve 
from  parole  such  of  their  own  officers  and  men  as  the  party  may 
choose.  The  lists  thus  mutually  furnished  will  keep  both  parties 
advised  of  the  true  condition  of  the  exchange  of  prisoners. 

Article  G.  The  stipulations  and  provisions  above  mentioned  to  be 
of  binding  obligation  during  the  continuance  of  the  war,  it  matters 
not  whTch  party  may  have  the  surplus  of  prisoners,  the  great  princi- 
ples involved  being:  1st.  An  equitable  exchange  of  prisoners,  man 
f'^r  man,  officer  for  officer^  or  officers  of  higher  grade,  exchanged  for 
officers  of  lower  grade,  or  for  privates,  according  to  the  scale  of  equiv- 
alents. 2d.  That  privates  and  officers  and  men  of  different  services 
may  be  exchanged  according  to  the  same  scale  of  equivalents.  3d. 
That  all  prisoners,  of  whatever  arm  of  service,  are  to  be  exchanged 
or  .paroled  in  ten  days  from  the  time  ot  their  capture,  if  it  be  practi- 
cable to  transfer  them  to  their  own  lines  in  that  time  ;  if  not,  as  soon 


149 

thereafter  as  practicable.  4th.  That  no  oflicer,  soldier,  or  employee 
in  service  of  either  party  is  to  be  considered  as  exchanged  and 
absolved  from  his  parole  until  his  "equivalent  has  actually  reached  the 
lines  of  his  friends.  5th.  That  the  parole  forbids  the  performance  of 
field,  garrison,  police,  or  guard,  or  constabulary  duty. 

JOHN  A.  DIX, 

Major  General. 
D.  H.  HILL, 
Major  General,  C.  S.  A. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  ARTICLES. 

Article  7.  All  prisoners  of  war  now  held  on  either  side,  and  all 
prisoners  hereafter  taken,  shall  be  sent,  with  all  reasonable  dispatch, 
to  A.  M.  Aiken's,  below  Dutch  Gap,  on  the  James  river,  in  A^irginia, 
or  to  Vicksburg,  on  the  Mississippi  river,  in  the  State  of  Mississippi, 
and  there  exchanged,  or  paroled  until  such  exchange  can  be  efl'ected, 
notice  being  previously  given  by  each  party  of  the  number  of  prisoners 
it  will  send,  and  the  time  when  they  will  be  delivered  at  those  points 
respectively ;  and  in  case  the  vicissitudes  of  war  shall  change  the  mil- 
itary relations  of  the  places  designated  in  this  article  to  the  contend- 
ing parties,  so  as  to  render  the  same  inconvenient  for  the  delivery  and 
exchange  of  piisoners,  other  places,  bearing  as  nearly  as  may  be  the 
present  local  relations  of  said  places  to  the  lines  of  said  parties,  shall 
be,  by  mutual  agreement,  substituted.  But  nothing  in  this  article 
contained  shall  pi  event  the  commanders  of  two  opposing  armies  from 
exchanging  prisoners,  or  releasing  them  on  parole,  at  other  points 
mutually  agreed  on  by  said  commanders. 

Articlk  8.  For  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  effect  the  foregoing 
articles  of  agreement,  each  party  will  appoint  two  agents,  to  bo  called 
agents  for  the  exchange  of  piisoners  of  war,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to 
communicate  with  each  other,  by  corre^ponilence  and  otherwise  ;  to 
prepare  the  lists  of  piisoners  ;  to  attend  to  the  delivery  of  the  prisoners 
at  the  places  agreed  on,  and  to  carry  out  prompti}',  ellectually,  and  in 
good  faith,  all  the  details  and  provisions  of  the  said  articles  of  agree- 
ment. ^ 

AkTiciE.  9.  And  in  case  any  misunderstanding  shall  arise  in  regard 
to  any  clause  or  stipulation  in  the  foregoing  articles,  it  is  mutually 
agreed  that  such  misunderstanding  shall  not  interrupt  the  release  of 
prisoners  on  parole,  as  herein  provided,  but  shall  bo  made  the  subject 
of  friendly  explanation,  in  order  that  the  object  of  this  agreement  may 
neither  be  defeated  or  postponed. 

JOHN  A   DIX, 

Major  General. 
D.  U.  HILL, 
Major  General  C.  6'.  A. 


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